Chip Duncan
Chip Duncan (born January 3, 1955) is an American filmmaker, author, and photographer, known principally for documentaries on history, current affairs, travel, and natural history. He is also president of a production company, Duncan Group, Inc, and has produced feature films including Eden, nominated for the 1996 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and Row Your Boat starring Jon Bon Jovi.
Biography
Chip Duncan was born in Shenandoah, Iowa and later resided in Michigan and Wisconsin. Duncan graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison with a degree in English and Communication Arts. He began his career in media at an NBC affiliate as a news producer and photographer. Duncan also performed for several years in a bluegrass band called Broken Bow; the band released one album, Arrival, in 1981. Duncan co-wrote for The Twilight Zone in 1985 and began his production company the same year. Since that time, he has worked extensively as a writer, producer, director and photographer of numerous films and television programs.
Film and TV
His documentary productions include The Reagan Presidency series (American Public Television - 2013), PBS special Landslide –- A Portrait of President Herbert Hoover, the 2-part series Prayer In America, The Cost of Freedom –- Civil Liberties, Security and the USA PATRIOT Act, Beyond the Gridiron -– The Life & Times of Woody Hayes, The Magic Never Ends -- The Life & Work of CS Lewis, In A Just World –- Contraception, Abortion & World Religion, Wisconsin: An American Portrait and Rafting Alaska’s Wildest Rivers. Duncan was also a consulting producer on the HBO Sports special The Rivalry and the PBS special Henry A. Wallace.
In 2011 Duncan completed "The Life & Death of Glaciers" a two-part classroom educational series on climate change, which is distributed by Discovery Education. January 2013 saw the release of Duncan's latest documentary production "The Reagan Presidency" a three-part series distributed by American Public Television for PBS affiliates nationwide.
In 1999, Duncan produced and directed Through One City’s Eyes, an in-depth campaign on race relations that included a nationwide public television broadcast, a seven-part public radio series, a two-part classroom series for middle school students, and a traveling photo museum.
Duncan’s production of the 13-part television series Mystic Lands featuring spiritual places of the world debuted on Discovery Networks. Duncan was the series creator, executive producer, and director as well as the writer and photographer of numerous episodes.
In 1992, Duncan wrote, produced, directed, and photographed Tatshenshini: A Journey to the Ice Age for public television. Duncan’s 1993 production of Alaska’s Bald Eagle: New Threats to Survival was the winner of the “Best New Wildlife Filmmaker” award at the 1993 Jackson Hole Wildlife Festival. During his production of the 1994 public television special 'Positive Thinking: The Norman Vincent Peale Story, Duncan and co-producer David Crouse interviewed five American presidents: Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George Herbert Walker Bush and Ronald Reagan.
Duncan’s feature film credits include producing Eden, a 1996 Sundance Film Festival Finalist, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.[1] That same year, Duncan executive produced the movie Cadillac Ranch. He was also producer of the movie Row Your Boat featuring Jon Bon Jovi and co-executive producer of The Break Up featuring Kiefer Sutherland and Bridget Fonda.
Duncan’s 1986-87 production of Is Anyone Listening?, an educational series for teenagers, is among the best-selling classroom series of all time.
Duncan is the co-author of two stories sold to the CBS network remake of the Twilight Zone in 1985.
Books
- His first non-fiction book (penned under the name John Ryan Duncan), The Magic Never Ends –- The Life and Work of C.S. Lewis was published in 2001 by Thomas Nelson Publishing. It was released in paperback by Augsburg Press in 2004.
- He also wrote Enough To Go Around - Searching for Hope in Afghanistan, Pakistan & Darfur (Select Books, NYC, 2009).
- Duncan had his first fiction book Half A Reason to Die - Eight Short Stories published in spring of 2017. (Select Books, NYC, 2017).
Still photography
Duncan’s work as a still photographer has been exhibited in numerous locations since 2009 including the Kenosha Public Museum (2016), Council on Foreign Relations (2013), the World Peace Festival in Berlin (2011), the O Street Museum in Washington, DC (2011) and the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Michigan (2009). Photographic works include an emphasis on people from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Peru, Sudan, Pakistan and Kenya.
Other work
Duncan is president of the Duncan Group, Inc, a documentary and feature film production company established in 1984. He is an advisor to the World Peace Festival in Berlin. Duncan is also an advisor to the Uprooted Theater Company Milwaukee, Wisconsin as well as America's Black Holocaust Museum Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Broadcast TV credits
- THE REAGAN PRESIDENCY (2013)
- LANDSLIDE–A Portrait of President Herbert Hoover (2009)
- PRAYER IN AMERICA (2007)
- THE RIVALRY (2007) (as Consulting Producer)
- THE COST OF FREEDOM - Civil Liberties, Security and the USA PATRIOT Act (2004)
- BEYOND THE GRIDIRON - The Life & Times of Woody Hayes (2004)
- HENRY A. WALLACE (2004) (as Photographer/Consulting Producer)
- IN A JUST WORLD - Contraception, Abortion & World Religion (2003)
- THE MAGIC NEVER ENDS - The Life & Work of CS Lewis (2002)
- RAFTING ALASKA'S WILDEST RIVERS (2001)
- WISCONSIN: AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT (2000)
- THROUGH ONE CITY'S EYES (1999)
- WORTH FIGHTING FOR (1999)
- THE WORLD SACRED MUSIC FESTIVAL (1999)
- MYSTIC LANDS–13-PART SERIES (1996)
- IOWA: An American Portrait (1996) (as Photographer)
- POSITIVE THINKING (1994)
- TATSHENSHINI: A Journey To The Ice Age (1994)
- ALASKA'S BALD EAGLE: New Threats To Survival (1994)
- SCANDINAVIA: Land of the Midnight Sun (1994)
- SCOTLAND: Land of Legends (1994)
- ASTRODUDES (1993)
- SWEDEN: Nordic Treasure (1992)
- DENMARK: The Jewel Of Europe (1992)
- NORWAY: Nature's Triumph (1992)
- GREECE: Playground of the Gods (1991)
- INDIA: Land Of Spirit & Mystique (1991)
- AUSTRALIA: Secrets Of The Land Down Under (1990)
- NEW YORK: City of Cities (1990)
- EMPHASIS WISCONSIN - MAXIMUM SECURITY & PRISON BOOT CAMP (1990)
- WASHINGTON D.C.: A Capital Adventure (1989)
- EMPHASIS WISCONSIN: WATER (1989)
- FITTING IN: A New Look At Peer Pressure (1987)
- NO FAULT KIDS (1987)
- BACK ON THE STREET (1986)
- DECISIONS: Teens, Sex & Pregnancy (1986)
- URBAN TURF (1986)
- TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN (1986)
- THE NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE (1986)
Feature films
- EDEN (1996) - Producer
- CADILLAC RANCH (1997) – Executive Producer
- THE BREAK UP (1999) - Co-executive producer
- ROW YOUR BOAT (1998) - Producer
- COYOTES (1999) - Co-executive producer
Festival films
In this festival award-winning documentary, sixty-two-year old Kenyan sound engineer Abdul Rahman Ramadhan recounts his extraordinary and often heartbreaking career covering crisis zones throughout East Africa. During a generation of work with acclaimed photojournalist and Camerapix founder Mohamed Amin and others, Abdul has experienced and recorded the sounds of genocide, war, revolution, anarchy and famine in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia and Rwanda.
Festival Awards for The Sound Man:
- Winner – The Sound Man – Documentary Short Film Award – Edmonton International Film Festival 2015
- Winner – The Sound Man – Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking – Documentary Impact Award Short Film – Newport Beach Film Festival 2015
- Winner – The Sound Man – Award of Excellence – Best Shorts Competition – CINE Golden Eagle 2015
- Winner – The Sound Man – Black Bear Award – Athens International Film & Video Festival 2015
- Winner – The Sound Man – Official Selection – Milwaukee Film Festival 2015
- Official Selection – The Sound Man – Nashville Film Festival 2015
- Official Selection – The Sound Man – Beverly Hills Film Festival 2015
- Official Selection – The Sound Man – Montreal World Film Festival 2015
- Official Selection – The Sound Man – New Orleans Film Festival 2015
- Official Selection – The Sound Man – St. Louis International Film Festival 2015
- Official Selection – The Sound Man – UNAFF International Film Festival 2015
*** The recognition for The Sound Man also included the Association of International Broadcasters awarding its 2016 AIB FOUNDER’S AWARD to Kenyan-based sound engineer Abdul Rahman Ramadhan during a London gala on November 2, 2016. The AIB Founders Award was inaugurated in 2011. Previous recipients of this prestigious award include: Sarina Arnold and Helen Stehli Pfister [2011] Jessica Beinicke [2012] Giles Duley [2013] Komla Dumor [posthumously, 2014] Mike Wooldridge [2015]
References
- ↑ "Eden (1996)". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119049/awards Accessed February 1, 2012
Additional sources
- Biography (http://www.duncanentertainment.com/staff_chip.php) at the Duncan Group company website (http://www.duncanentertainment.com)
- Chip Duncan (http://duncanabroad.blogspot.com) at the Duncan Abroad blogspot
- Chip Duncan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0241933/) at the Internet Movie Database
- On Milwaukee website interview with Becky Roozen (http://www.onmilwaukee.com/buzz/articles/chipduncan.html)
- Savannah College of Art and Design - Photography exhibition and lecture by Chip Duncan (http://www.scad.edu/news/2009/chip-duncan.cfm)
- Chip Duncan interview with Jane Hampden [WUWM’s Lake Effect] regarding the public television documentary Prayer In America. (http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/view_le.php?articleid=361)
- Prayer In America website (http://www.prayerinamerica.org)
- Chip Duncan - Photography Exhibition - Nicolet College Art Gallery (http://dev.nicoletcollege.edu/community/eventsentertainment/artgallery/index.html)
- Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI - "Images of Humanity and Hope" - Photographic exhibition of Duncan's work from his book Enough To Go Around (http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2009/09/17/editorials/doc4ab26240904a1598209794.txt)
- Photographic Exhibition "Images of Humanity and Hope" The Graphic Weekly (http://www.thegraphicweekly.com/artscene/artscene20090910.html)
- Chip Duncan radio interview with Stephanie Lecci [WUWM’s Lake Effect – February 22, 2010] regarding his book "Enough To Go Around" (http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/view_le.php?articleid=917)
- Chip Duncan’s February 16, 2010 radio interview on The Exchange [Iowa Public Radio]. Duncan discusses his book "Enough To Go Around" (http://iowapublicradio.org/programSpecific.php?typeId=35)
- CNN link to the "Untold Story" (http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/03/video-the-untold-story/) Chip Duncan and Salim Amin documentary produced in conjunction with ONE (http://www.one.org/) showing contrast between the 1984 food crisis in Ethiopia and Tigray, Ethiopia in 2011.
- Chip Duncan's June 23, 2011 interview with Kathleen Dunn [Wisconsin Public Radio] on the United Nations Environment Programme in Afghanistan (http://wpr.org/wcast/download-mp3-request.cfm?mp3file=dun110623d.mp3&iNoteID=98204)
- Ben Kieffer of Iowa Public Radio interviews Chip Duncan on documentary series on Reagan Presidency (http://news.iowapublicradio.org/post/reagan-presidency-and-chip-duncan)
- Julie Mason of POTUS Sirius XM Radio interviews Chip Duncan on Reagan Presidency (https://soundcloud.com/tags/chipduncan)
- Chip Duncan discusses the Reagan Presidency documentary series on MSNBC Morning Joe January 29, 2013 (http://video.msnbc.msn.com/morning-joe/50625433/#50625433)
- Chip Duncan's February 13, 2013 interview with WUWM Lake Effect's Bonnie North on the three-part Reagan Presidency documentary. (http://www.wuwm.com/programs/lake_effect/lake_effect_segment.php?segmentid=10149)
- Producers Chip Duncan and Tracy Dorsey discuss The Reagan Presidency documentary series with Kathleen Dunn of Wisconsin Public Radio. Interview conducted on February 14, 2013. (http://wpr.org/wcast/download-mp3-request.cfm?mp3file=dun130214e.mp3&iNoteID=160682)
- Chip Duncan's February 26, 2013 interview with Patrick Gavin of Politico on The Reagan Presidency documentary series. (http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/ronald-reagan-foreign-policy-88123.html)
- Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) May 21, 2013 webcast on The Reagan Presidency documentary series. Includes select film clips from The Reagan Presidency as well as panel discussion. Panel members include Henry Cisneros, Trent Lott and Chip Duncan. (http://bipartisanpolicy.org/events/2013/05/reagan-presidency)
- Chip Duncan's June 13, 2013 interview with Phil Ponce of Chicago Tonight (WTTW) on the 3-part documentary series The Reagan Presidency. (http://video.wttw.com/video/2365026155)
- November 29, 2013 radio broadcast of excerpted version of Special Forum on U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1980s held November 12, 2013 at the University Club, Milwaukee, WI. Moderated by WUWM's Mitch Teich (Lake Effect) the forum featured Chip Duncan, Richard Friedman and Dr. Svetlana Savranskaya. (http://wuwm.com/post/friday-lake-effect-special-forum-us-foreign-policy-1980s)
- Chip Duncan's October 16, 2014 WUWM's Lake Effect radio interview with Mitch Teich. Discussion of Duncan's photo exhibition Time After Time featuring still photography from Peru and Kenya. (http://wuwm.com/post/one-frame-tell-story-photographs-people-and-poverty)
- Chip Duncan's April 17, 2017 Wisconsin Public Radio interview with Kathleen Dunn. Discussion of Duncan's recently published fiction book "Half A Reason to Die - Eight Short Stories". Duncan also provides updates on past and future project-based endeavors of the Duncan Entertainment Group. (http://mp3.wpr.org/download.php?f=dun170417j.mp3)