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 Duncan Group, Inc., a production company and has produced feature films including ''Eden'', nominated for the 1996 Grand Jury Prize at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and ''

Row Your Boat Row or ROW may refer to: Exercise *Rowing, or a form of aquatic movement using oars *Row (weight-lifting), a form of weight-lifting exercise Math *Row vector, a 1 × ''n'' matrix in linear algebra. *Row (database), a single, implicitly structured ...

'' starring

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Early life and education

Chip Duncan was born in

Shenandoah, Iowa Shenandoah is a city in Page and Fremont counties in Iowa, United States. The population was 4,925 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Once referred to as the "seed and nursery center of the world," Shenandoah is the home to Earl May Seed Compan ...

and later resided in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. Duncan graduated from the

University of Wisconsin, Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

with a degree in English and

Communication Arts ''Communication Arts'' is the largest international trade journal of visual communications.Au ...

. At that time, he was member of the campus band ''Broken Bow''. The band released one album, Arrival, in 1981.

Film and television career

Duncan began his career in media at an NBC affiliate as a news producer and photographer. He co-wrote for the 1985 remake of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' and founded his own production company the same year. His early career saw him produce ''Is Anyone Listening?'' (1986-87), an educational series for teenagers. In 1992, Duncan made ''Tatshenshini: A Journey to the Ice Age'', a documentary for public television. He won the Best New Wildlife Filmmaker award at the 1993

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unite ...

Wildlife Festival for his 1993 production ''Alaska's Bald Eagle: New Threats to Survival''. 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 Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. Duncan's production of the 1996 13-part television series ''Mystic Lands'', about spiritual places of the world, debuted on

Discovery Networks Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channe ...

. Duncan was the series creator,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, and director. Duncan's feature film credits include producing '' Eden'', a 1996

Finalist, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize."Eden (1996)". IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119049/awards Accessed February 1, 2012 That same year, Duncan was executive producer of the movie ''

Cadillac Ranch ''Cadillac Ranch'' is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo, Texas, US. It was created in 1974 by Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were a part of the art group Ant Farm. The installation consists of ten Cadillac ...

''. He was also producer of the movie ''

'' featuring

and co-executive producer of '' The Break Up'' featuring

Kiefer Sutherland Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...

and

Bridget Fonda Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), ''Single White Female'' (1992), ''Singles'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' (1993), '' It Could Happen to You'' ( ...

. In 1999, Duncan produced and directed ''Through One City's Eyes'', an in-depth campaign on

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in the ...

that included a nationwide

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

broadcast, a seven-part public radio series, a two-part classroom series for

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

students, and a traveling photo museum. In 2015, Duncan released ''The Sound Man'', a documentary about 62-year old Kenyan sound engineer Abdul Rahman Ramadhan's career covering crisis zones in East Africa. Working with photojournalist Mohamed Amin, Abdul recorded the sounds of genocide, war, revolution, anarchy and famine in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia and Rwanda. The film won awards at: the 2015 Edmonton Film Festival (Documentary Short Film Award); the 2015 Newport Beach Film Festival (Outstanding Achievement in Film-making Documentary Impact Award for a Short Film); 2015 CINE Golden Eagle (Award of Excellence in Best Shorts Competition); the 2015 Athens International Film & Video Festival (Black Bear Award); and the 2015 Milwaukee Film Festival (Winner, Official Selection). It was also entered into the Official Selection at numerous other festivals in 2015, including the

Nashville Film Festival The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...

Beverly Hills Film Festival The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is a film festival in the United States founded in 2001 by independent filmmaker Nino Simone. The festival is an international competition dedicated to showcasing the art and talent of emerging filmmakers a ...

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

New Orleans Film Festival The New Orleans Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the nonprofit organization New Orleans Film Society, a film society founded in 1989. The festival has been held since the society's inception. The festival takes place in mid-Oc ...

St. Louis International Film Festival The St. Louis International Film Festival (also known as SLIFF or Cinema St. Louis) is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 2003 ...

, and

UNAFF International Film Festival The United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) is an international documentary film festival. It was founded by Jasmina Bojic, a Stanford educator and film critic, in 1998 to honor the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Huma ...

Books

Duncan's first

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book, released under the name John Ryan Duncan, was ''The Magic Never Ends –- The Life and Work of C.S. Lewis'', 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'', released in 2009 by Select Books. His first fiction book, ''Half A Reason to Die: Eight Short Stories'', was published in spring of 2017 by Select Books. Duncan's fourth book, a return to non-fiction, was ''Inspiring Change: The Photographic Journey of Chip Duncan'', released in 2018 by Thunder House Press.

Photography

Duncan's work as a still photographer has been exhibited in numerous locations since 2009, including the

Charles Allis Art Museum The Charles Allis Art Museum is a museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Charles Allis House. Allis Mansion history The Charles Allis Art Museum was originally the home of Milwaukee native C ...

(2018), the Kenosha Public Museum (2016),

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

(2013), the World Peace Festival in Berlin (2011), the

O Street Museum The O Street Museum Foundation is a museum which focuses on exploring the creative process. Located in Washington, D.C., O Street Museum Foundation is housed in five interconnected town houses that include over 100 rooms and 32 secret doors. C ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

(2011) and the Crooked Tree Arts Center in Michigan (2009). His photographic work heavily features people from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Peru, Sudan, Ghana, Colombia, Pakistan and Kenya.

Other work

Duncan is president of the Duncan Group Inc., a documentary and feature film

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

established in 1984. He is a board member for the Juneau Icefield Research Program, a trustee for the Loisaba Community Conservation Foundation, and an advisor to the World Peace Festival in Berlin and the America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Filmography

Feature films

* '' Eden'' (1996) - Producer * ''

'' (1997) – Executive Producer * '' The Break Up'' (1999) - Co-executive producer * ''

'' (1998) - Producer * ''

Coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

'' (1999) - Co-executive producer

Documentaries

* ''The Nuclear Nightmare'' (1986) * ''To Whom It May Concern'' (1986) * ''Urban Turf'' (1986) * ''Decisions: Teens, Sex & Pregnancy'' (1986) * ''Back On The Street'' (1986) * ''No Fault Kids'' (1987) * ''Fitting In: A New Look At Peer Pressure'' (1987) * ''Emphasis Wisconsin: Water'' (1989) * ''Washington D.C.: A Capital Adventure'' (1989) * ''Emphasis Wisconsin: Maximum Security & Prison Boot Camp'' (1990) * ''New York: City of Cities'' (1990) * ''Australia: Secrets Of The Land Down Under'' (1990) * ''India: Land Of Spirit & Mystique'' (1991) * ''Greece: Playground of the Gods'' (1991) * ''Norway: Nature's Triumph'' (1992) * ''Denmark: The Jewel Of Europe'' (1992) * ''Sweden: Nordic Treasure'' (1992) * ''Astrodudes'' (1993) * ''Scotland: Land of Legends'' (1994) * ''Scandinavia: Land of the Midnight Sun'' (1994) * ''Alaska's Bald Eagle: New Threats To Survival'' (1994) * ''Tatshenshini: A Journey To The Ice Age'' (1994) * ''Positive Thinking'' (1994) * ''Iowa: An American Portrait'' (1996; as Photographer) * ''Mystic Lands'' (1996; 13-part series) * ''The World Sacred Music Festival'' (1999) * ''Worth Fighting For'' (1999) * ''Through One City's Eyes'' (1999) * ''Wisconsin: An American Portrait'' (2000) * ''Rafting Alaska's Wildest Rivers'' (2001) * ''The Magic Never Ends: The Life and Work of

CS Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

'' (2002) * ''In A Just World: Contraception, Abortion & World Religion'' (2003) * ''

Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...

'' (2004; as Photographer/Consulting Producer) * ''Beyond The Gridiron: The Life & Times of

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...

'' (2004) * ''The Cost of Freedom: Civil Liberties, Security and the

USA PATRIOT Act The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of Congress, Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President of the United States, President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniti ...

'' (2004) * ''The Rivalry'' (2007; as Consulting Producer) * ''Prayer In America'' (2007) * ''Landslide: A Portrait of President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

'' (2009) * ''The Reagan Presidency'' (2013) * ''The Sound Man'' (2015) * ''Tolkien & Lewis - Myth, Imagination and the Quest for Meaning'' (2017; released nationwide in the United States on public television in September 2017 by

American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and independ ...

)

References

External links

Biography
at the Duncan Group website
Duncan Abroad
blogspot
Chip Duncan
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, ...

Interview with Becky Roozen
On Milwaukee website
Interview with Jane Hampden about ''Prayer in America''
WUWM's Lake Effect
Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey, MI - "Images of Humanity and Hope"
Photographic exhibition of work from Duncan's book ''Enough To Go Around''

''The Graphic Weekly''
Radio interview with Stephanie Lecci about ''Enough To Go Around''
WUWM's Lake Effect – February 22, 2010
Radio interview on The Exchange, Iowa Public Radio, about ''Enough To Go Around''
February 16, 2010
Radio interview with Ben Kieffer of Iowa Public Radio about ''The Reagan Presidency''

February 26, 2013
Interview with Phil Ponce of Chicago Tonight about ''The Reagan Presidency''
WTTW, June 13, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Chip American filmmakers 1955 births Living people People from Shenandoah, Iowa