ArgoFilms is a production company specializing in documentary filmmaking. Established in 1990, ArgoFilms has received six

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, a duPont-Columbia Award for Journalism, four Genesis Awards, and over one hundred other awards internationally.

Allison Argo Allison Argo (born December 23, 1953) is an American film producer, director, writer, editor, and narrator. She is best known for her documentaries that focus on endangered wildlife and conservation. Her films have received awards including six ...

, who serves as producer, director, writer, editor, and narrator for ArgoFilms, began the company with the goal of "lending a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves." The company focusing especially on

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

and captive animal issues. ''Frogs: The Thin Green Line'', ''Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History'', and ''Crash: A Tale of Two Species'' are acclaimed documentaries produced in collaboration with ''National Geographic'' and PBS. In total, ArgoFilms has created fifteen films for National Geographic and PBS.“ArgoFilms,” Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Aug. 2012, https://www.imdb.com/company/co0249843/. Currently in pre-production at ArgoFilms is ''The Story of Dao,'' the company’s first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

History

In the late 1980s, Allison Argo encountered a captive gorilla named Ivan living inside a shopping mall in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. For over two decades, Ivan had lived in a concrete enclosure without exposure to natural light or other gorillas. Prompted by this encounter, Argo left her career as an actress to produce films on conservation and captive animal welfare. ''

The Urban Gorilla ''The Urban Gorilla'' is a 1991 documentary television film from National Geographic Explorer and ArgoFilms. The film explores the lives of gorillas in an urban environment. ''The Urban Gorilla'' was narrated by Glenn Close and shot by Robert C ...

'', directly inspired by Ivan’s condition, took three years for ArgoFilms to complete as their first production. The team included Allison Argo as writer, director, and producer; Argo’s then-husband, Director of Photography Robert E. Collins, as principal cinematographer; and

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

as narrator. The film, broadcast by National Geographic, was nominated for two national Emmys, and received a 1992

Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered ...

. After the success of ''The Urban Gorilla'', National Geographic approached Argo to discuss further collaboration. This led to ArgoFilms’ second documentary, ''Keepers of the Wild'', for which Argo won a 1992 National Emmy for Directing. Filming for ''Keepers of the Wild'' spanned Kenya, Belize, Canada, and the US, starting ArgoFilms’ international travel. Argo wrote, directed, and produced the film, with Glenn Close once again performing as narrator.

Productions

Since 1990, ArgoFilms has produced 14 documentaries, as well as shorter films to support wildlife and conservation causes. The company frequently collaborates with National Geographic Television, PBS, and

Thirteen/WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

. Six of ArgoFilms’ documentaries were produced for the PBS Nature series. ArgoFilms is in pre-production for ''The Story of Dao'', the company’s first full-length feature film. The film is based on the life of an elephant named Pang Dao, whom Argo first encountered during the filming of ''The Urban Elephant'' for PBS Nature and National Geographic. ''The Story of Dao'' began pre-production in 2011. The film’s six-week scout in Southeast Asia was funded by a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign, which received over $25,000 from over 200 backers.

References

External links

ArgoFilms official website

ArgoFilms
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{Authority control Documentary film production companies Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1990 1990 establishments in Massachusetts