Anthony Geffen

CEO & Creative Director

Atlantic Productions Limited

Anthony Geffen is one of the world’s leading documentary film makers and producers. He worked for the BBC for 10 years before setting up Atlantic Productions in 1992.

He has won several BAFTA’s and EMMY’s and is the only producer to win the prestigious Hew Weldon BAFTA award for Specialist Factual twice (2014, 2011) and the only producer to win three EMMY’s in a single year for a documentary.

His many other international awards include: Best Films at New York & Chicago film festival, Time Magazine’s Best Programme of the year, RTS awards, a Special award for Innovation by the International Broadcasters Convention (IBC), the Lumiere Best European 3D documentary and Best 3D awards at the Wildscreen and Jackson Hole festivals.

His television, theatrical and IMAX documentaries and dramas and cover a broad range of subjects including: contemporary issues, history, science, natural history, current affairs, arts and music and his films have been seen in over 100 countries. 

His many television films and series include:

Directing and producing a series of multi-award winning popular BBC 1 films: Hirohito Behind The Myth (BBC/PBS); the EMMY-nominated Rise & Fall Of The Ceausescu’s (BBC/PBS ); The Faces Of Arafat (BBC/PBS) and Franco, Behind The Myth (BBC/A&E).

Other contemporary films include: BAFTA nominated Munich: Mossad’s Revenge (BBC/Discovery); The War In Lebanon (BBC/CNN); the BAFTA-winning Last African Flying Boat (BBC/ABC), the twelve-part series The Real LAPD; the six-part The Real Miami Vice(Discovery/Channel 5/France 5) and the forthcoming four-part series Inside the Commons (BBC) coming in 2015.

A series of landmark films on American history include: The Promised Land - a six-part multiple EMMY-nominated series about the Great African American Migration (BBC/Discovery); The American Dream - a six-part portrait of America (BBC/Discovery) and the series Prohibition – The 13 Years that Changed America (BBC/A&E).

Historical films include: the EMMY-winning Jerusalem: City of Heaven (PBS/ABC); the EMMY-nominated Nefertiti Resurrected(Discovery/Channel 5); the three-part Greeks Crucible of Civilisation (BBC/PBS); the BAFTA-nominated Who Killed King Tut?(Discovery/France 5/Channel 5); the award winning multi-part series Secrets of Ancient Rome & Secrets of Egypt (National Geographic); the 25-part series Lost World (History Channel) and the two-part drama series Empires: Holy Warriors - Richard the Lionheart and Saladin(BBC/PBS).

Science-based documentaries include: the recently screened six-part series Time Scanners (NCGI/PBS/ABC); The Science of Jules Verne(BBC/Discovery); Predator X (History Channel/Discovery Europe); The Inside Story of Apollo 13 (Channel 5/Discovery) and Apollo 11: The Untold Story (Channel 5/Discovery).

Music documentaries include: and the EMMY-nominated Charlotte Church live (BBC/PBS) and Behind the Scenes at Terry Gilliam’s Cellini(cinema short).

He has collaborated with David Attenborough on over 10 projects using new technology including: the triple EMMY-winning series First Life(BBC/Discovery); the series Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates (BBC/PBS) which has also been nominated in the 2014 Wildscreen awards.

In 3D, their other films include: the BAFTA-winning Natural History Museum Alive 3D (Sky3D) also nominated in 2014 Wildscreen awards in 5 categories and for two 2014 Grierson awards; the BAFTA-winning Flying Monsters 3D (Sky3D) which also won awards at festivals including Wildscreen and Jackson Hole; Kingdom of Plants 3D (Sky3D), BAFTA-nominated and winner of the Best European 3D documentary; Micro Monsters 3D (Sky3D) BAFTA-nominated and winner of the best European 3D documentary; Galapagos 3D (Sky 3D), winner of RTS awards; three-part series the RTS-winning Penguins 3D (Sky 3D) and this Christmas (2014) the forthcoming Conquest of the Skies 3D.

His theatrical films include directing and producing The Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest (BBC Films/National Geographic Adventures), producing Flying Monsters 3D, Galapagos 3D and Penguins 3D - films that all continue to be successful at the box-office for IMAX and Giant Screen and a theatrical short Tinderbox.

Anthony is currently developing several television drama projects with American and British partners.

He also produces theatrical ventures and other projects with Hollywood producer Mike Medavoy (Black Swan, Shutter Island) through Geffen-Medavoy Pictures (GMP).

He has been a leading innovator in 3D, 4K and CGI and is working with leading technology companies to build content for new digital platforms including award-winning apps (Kingdom of Plants & NHM Alive). Currently he is developing content across new Virtual Reality (VR) platforms through Atlantic’s new venture Alchemy VR.

Anthony is a Fellow (by Special Election) of St Cross College, Oxford.

Speaking at: Smart + Loud = Hit