Chris makes short and long form films in advertising, documentary and drama.
Chris’ first obsession was music. A half decent career as a rock guitarist was redirected however when he did a year studying sound design at film school, and all of a sudden a new obsession with filmmaking began. So now that’s two obsessions.
He began making documentaries as well as working in development for Working Title Films in Sydney, for whom he wrote a treatment for a feature film about a giant killer bat.
His first real film writing gig was the documentary about the life of surfer Ross Clarke-Jones, narrated by Dennis Hopper.
Chris developed that film further to create a documentary series with Ross Clarke-Jones for Discovery Channel (winning Astra and Asian television awards) which led to a feature version, shot in 3D, called Storm Surfers 3D – co-directed with Justin McMillan. Storm Surfers 3D went on to be released in the US and internationally, winning runner-up at the Toronto International Film festival in 2012, and the AACTA award (the Australian “Oscars”) for Best Feature Documentary. Here’s the Variety review.
In 2021, Girls Can’t Surf, a feature documentary about the emergence of women’s professional surfing in the 1980s, saw Chris in the roles of director, co-writer and producer. Girls Can’t Surf was the highest-grossing box office feature documentary in Australia that year, selected for the Tribeca Film Festival and released in cinemas in the UK as well as being nominated for Best Feature Documentary at the 2021 AACTA awards. It has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the Guardian said “Girls Can’t Surf has its fair share blood-boiling moments. But it’s still an enormously enjoyable adrenaline rush of a film.”
Chris is also the ideator and co-founder of The Lion’s Share, a global charitable fund backed by the UN Development Programme whereby advertisers contribute to wildlife conservation and animal welfare.
Chris lives near Sydney, Australia.
Commercial representation (Australia & NZ):
Literary Agent (Australia):
Sally McLennan at Shanahan Management