The District of Columbia Office of Motion Picture and Television Development is pleased to honor Nick Fitzhugh, documentary filmmaker and founder of redfitz productions, as the September 2012 Filmmaker of the Month.
With more than 10 years of entrepreneurial, nonprofit, media, technology, creative and production management experience, Nick Fitzhugh brings a unique perspective to filmmaking. He began his career as a student at Brown University (BFA ‘02) by starting Glimpse (glimpse.org), a nonprofit multimedia platform for young people living and studying abroad to share stories about personal cultural experiences abroad. Seven years later the company was acquired by the National Geographic Society. He continued to run what became National Geographic Glimpse with Glimpse co-founder Kerala Taylor for three years.
A self-professed storyteller specializing in filmmaking, design and photography, Nick decided to start his own production company, redfitz productions, in 2010 and take on the world of filmmaking full time. His first film, Soccer City, is a documentary series and featurette about life and soccer in the largest and most notorious township in South Africa during the first ever World Cup to be held in Africa. The film was picked up by the National Geographic Channel International, ESPN Classic, and SnagFilms and is also available on iTunes, Amazon, XFinity and FiOS.
“Stories allow us to understand one another and the world around us,” states Nick. “I want to be among those finding the most powerful and transformative stories and sharing them in a way that brings them to life for anyone courageous enough for the experience.”
Nick’s upcoming projects include Starboard Light, his first feature documentary revolving around a 160-year-old house that was in Nick’s family for a century and five generations until it was tragically sold in 2011; Lifeblood, a 25-minute short documentary, funded in part by the National Geographic All Roads Film Project, about the River Nile and its people through the eyes, lives and music of the best musicians that live along it; and The Garden of Steven, a 25-minute dark comedy about a small town missionary in a strange land who stumbles upon the lowest road to salvation with the help of a little Mayan girl, a black magic woman, and a saint with a cigar.
In the summers, Nick also leads photography and filmmaking expeditions for National Geographic Student Expeditions allowing him to travel while teaching photography and filmmaking to high school students. He currently resides in ward one in the District of Columbia. You can follow Nick and his filmmaking at www.facebook.com/redfitz.
The DC Film Office launched the Filmmaker of the Month initiative to feature a District-based filmmaker who exemplifies the vast amount of talent and creativity based here in the nation’s capital. The Filmmaker of the Month initiative is part of its mission to elevate the national and international profile of the city’s most talented filmmakers. Previous filmmakers honored include Double R Productions Founder Rosemary Reed, Money Matters director Ryan Richmond, DoubleBack Productions founder Adrena Ifill, and The Woodmans director of photography Neil Barrett.
You can visit the Filmmaker of the Month section to learn more about Nick and previous Filmmaker of the Month recipients.