Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Charlie Hamilton James: I Bought a Rainforest
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Our Mission
Mayo Performing Arts Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2016-2017 season is made possible, in part, by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, F.M. Kirby Foundation and other numerous foundations, corporations and individuals. As a courtesy to the artists and for the uninterrupted enjoyment of your fellow patrons, please turn off all cell phones, pagers, beepers and other electronic devices. Please unwrap any lozenges before the performance begins. No portion of this performance may be photographed, recorded, filmed, taped, broadcast or mechanically reproduced without the written consent of the Artist and/or the Presenter. Mayo Performing Arts Center is not responsible for lost or stolen items.
National Geographic Live presents Charlie Hamilton James: I Bought a Rainforest Biography
Recently, Hamilton James has taken up residence in Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, founded in 1872. Yellowstone is home to a wide variety of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and 67 species of mammals, including some of our most embattled predators. For an upcoming National Geographic story celebrating the upcoming National Park Service centennial in 2016, Hamilton James goes beyond the park’s boundaries from Wyoming into Idaho and Montana, to create a portrait of the one of the largest temperate-zone ecosystems on Earth.
Charlie Hamilton James is a photojournalist who specializes in wildlife and conservation. His work requires specialized equipment, much of which he makes. Hamilton James has a particular interest in exposing “the brilliance of nature” in order to better document, understand, and save it. He has been obsessed with kingfishers—brightly plumed ambush hunters—since he was six, and with otters since he was ten. He has since become an authority on both, photographing kingfishers for National Geographic in 2009 Event Description and river otters in 2013. Fiercely motivated to protect the rain forest habitat of Peru’s Manu National Park, a place where he has worked for the past 20 years, Hamilton James purchased a 100acre plot of land adjoining the park, only to learn he had acquired an illegal coca plantation along with it. The BBC chronicled his misadventures in a threepart series, I Bought a Rainforest. In the series, Hamilton James went on a journey to discover the real Amazon—living with illegal loggers, working in a gold mine, taking mindaltering drugs with shaman, hunting the Machiguenga indians, and photographing uncontacted tribes. The result was dramatic and powerful— described by The Guardian as, “Survivor meets The Mosquito Coast meets Apocalypse Now meets Breaking Bad.” He has since returned to Manu National Park to cover its wildlife and people for National Geographic.
I Bought a Rainforest
When not in the field photographing, Hamilton James shoots natural history films for clients including the BBC, and others, through his production company Halcyon Media LTD, which he runs with his wife Philippa Forrester. He also does onair work as a TV presenter for various BBC programs, including Halcyon River Diaries, which documented the year he and his family spent living on the river outside their house. Hamilton James has been nominated for Emmy awards and twice won the Royal Television Society award for photography.
Join this critically acclaimed photojournalist as he recounts his unlikely journey from the Peruvian rainforest to the mountain landscapes of Yellowstone—plus a sneak peek at his latest project, inside Tanzania’s Serengeti.
Discover what it’s like to live in—not just visit— two of the world’s great wildlife parks. Charlie Hamilton James has been shooting in Peru’s Manu National Park—the most bio-diverse place on Earth—for more than two decades. Fiercely motivated to protect the rainforest and its inhabitants, he bought a piece of land adjoining the park—only to discover that he had purchased an illegal cocaine factory along with it. His misadventures as an Amazonian landowner were documented in the BBC Television series, I Bought a Rainforest. More recently, Charlie has been living in Yellowstone, America’s original wildlife park, for the 2016 centennial of the National Park Service. For a forthcoming National Geographic story, he has gone beyond the park’s boundaries, creating a portrait of the larger ecosystem that Yellowstone supports.
A Message From Our Sponsor “Once again, BASF is proud to partner with our New Jersey neighbors at MPAC and National Geographic to present programming that fosters greater awareness of the incredible world that surrounds us. At BASF, our purpose, We create chemistry for a sustainable future, means we are focused on developing innovative technologies to help power, feed, move, house and improve the lives of the growing world community. In both our operations and products, we seek the best possible balance among economic, environmental and social factors; sustainable solutions for today and for the future. Just as importantly, we aim to create the human chemistry -connections between people, organizations and institutions -- that fosters a collaborative and cooperative approach to solving the world’s sustainability challenges. On Earth Day, and every day, BASF is proud to play a key role in creating chemistry to meet the needs of a thriving tomorrow.” Charlene Wall-Warren Sustainability - North America BASF - We create chemistry
Mayo Performing Arts Center Gratefully Acknowledges
For its Support of
Charlie Hamilton James: I Bought a Rainforest Wednesday • April 19
Through BASF Corporation’s generous support, MPAC is able to present this important program to school groups on Wednesday, April 19 at 10:30 am and the general public on Wednesday, April 19 at 7:30 pm.