ABOUT GRYPHON PRODUCTIONS'

PETER VON PUTTKAMER

 

Along with his wife and writing partner, Producer Sheera Von Puttkamer, Peter Von Puttkamer founded, owns and operates Gryphon Productions Ltd. He has executive produced, written, directed dozens of international award-winning series and specials worldwide over the last 30 years. Gryphon Productions Ltd. has created factual programming for Discovery Channel US, Animal Planet, History Channel, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel Europe/International/HD, TLC, PBS and more.  These programs, created by,  directed/produced by Peter, have won more than 80 international awards.

 

Peter’s fascination with indigenous peoples, anthropology, archaeology, mythology, music and wildlife has led to unique and imaginative projects around the world.  Whether working on heart-felt personal stories, socio-political issues or broad adventure-based entertainment documentaries, filmmaking for von Puttkamer has always been a blend of mind, body and spirit.  He has climbed through ancient caves used for human sacrifice in Mexico, filmed then eaten giant 12” tarantulas with Venezuelan blow-gun hunters, searched for the largest (mammoth-like) Asian elephants in the world, been charged by Tigers, filmed sacred mask rituals and dances of North American natives, recorded soul music classics with legendary recording artists, searched for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World in South America, chased Caribou herds on the Arctic Circle, joined numerous hunts for Bigfoot and featured scientific/medical breakthroughs.  Working in the documentary or reality world, Peter and Sheera von Puttkamer

bring a unique vision and creative talent to every aspect of production.

 

Gryphon programs have inspired the creation of Festivals and retrospectives in Italy and Brazil.  Gryphon films/series have helped inspire whole TV genres.  Programs for TLC/Discovery Channel/CTV such as “Sasquatch Odyssey” and “Monster Hunters” revealed the strange world of cryptozoology to a new TV audience in 1999.   “Sasquatch Odyssey” won several awards and was selected for the prestigious 1999 IDA Doctober Festival screenings in Los Angeles- qualifying it for Academy Award nomination.  “Monster Hunters” produced for TLC screened at the New York International Independent Film Festival in New York and LA and has won 2 Platinum Awards at the 2002 Worldfest Houston.  In 2003-04, Gryphon created & wrote/directed/produced an 8 hour, 24 segment series “Beyond Invention” for Discovery Channel which aired worldwide and is currently running on Discovery’s Science Channel in the US.  Winner of 3 American Indian Film Festival Awards, Peter enjoys a special relationship with First Nations/Native American and indigenous people: these films have had a major social, cultural and political impact wherever they are shown.

 

In 2006, Gryphon produced/directed a Television Special “Domus Mactabilis-Real Monster Houses” for the Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis/Sony Pictures Feature Film- “Monster House”.

 

Gryphon’s two-hour special, “The Real Lost World” was a hit on Animal Planet & Discovery HD Theater and Discovery Channel International; The CINE award-winning “Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey”-  a 2 Hr. award-winning History Channel Special was shot in the Amazon and 5 countries, featuring National Geographic Explorer in Residence Wade Davis (author-“The Serpent and the Rainbow” on voodoo); the “Peyote to LSD” program is about the life of plant-explorer Richard Evans Schultes and how his discoveries of hallucinogens changed the western world.  A one hour wildlife special— “UAKARI: Secrets of the English Monkey” aired on Animal Planet’s Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom, BBC Natural World and CBC Nature of Things. The program won a CINE Golden Eagle Award and features Red Uakari monkeys (filmed here for the first time in the wild) and conservation work being done for the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo).

 

Gryphon produced the big-screen HD exhibit film: “Where Rivers, Mts. and People Meet” for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Ctr. at Whistler, B.C. Recently, Gryphon produced nationally US broadcast:  PBS (WNET- Secrets of the Dead) SPECIAL: “Lost in the Amazon”- about Col. Percy Fawcett’s search for the lost city of Z- in the Brazilian Amazon.  From 2011-14, they produced two seasons of Biggest and Baddest - a wildlife-travel-adventure series featuring biologist-adventurer Niall McCann for Animal Planet and Discovery International.  Season Two of Biggest and Baddest has is now airing on National Geographic Wild and Discovery Channel  worldwide. In 2015, the series won top platinum awards at WORLDFEST HOUSTON and nominations from the Hollywood community- at the prestigious Environmental Media Awards held at Warner Brothers Studios, alongside HBO VICE, and feature films like Mad Max- Fury Road and Interstellar. A third Season of Biggest and Baddest is currently in development.   After a successful “Killing Bigfoot” pilot with Discovery Networks in 2014, Gryphon is producing the Docu-Reality Series “Killing Bigfoot”- for Destination America  (Discovery US) and Travel and Escape Canada: US broadcasts will begin in early 2017. Recently signed to The Gersh Agency in Hollywood,  Peter/Sheera and Gryphon Productions currently have specials/series in development with various networks.

 

A. Film & TV- University of British Columbia

Sheera von Puttkamer- Producer

B.A.- UBC,  Masters in Fine Arts- University of Southern California

 

 

Download a complete company history here

ABOUT GRYPHON PRODUCTIONS' PETER VON PUTTKAMER Along with his wife and writing partner, Producer Sheera Von Puttkamer, Peter Von Puttkamer founded, owns and operates Gryphon Productions Ltd. He has executive produced, written, directed dozens of international award-winning series and specials worldwide over the last 30 years. Gryphon Productions Ltd. has created factual programming for Discovery Channel US, Animal Planet, History Channel, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel Europe/International/HD, TLC, PBS and more. These programs, created by, directed/produced by Peter, have won more than 80 international awards. Peter’s fascination with indigenous peoples, anthropology, archaeology, mythology, music and wildlife has led to unique and imaginative projects around the world. Whether working on heart-felt personal stories, socio-political issues or broad adventure-based entertainment documentaries, filmmaking for von Puttkamer has always been a blend of mind, body and spirit. He has climbed through ancient caves used for human sacrifice in Mexico, filmed then eaten giant 12” tarantulas with Venezuelan blow-gun hunters, searched for the largest (mammoth-like) Asian elephants in the world, been charged by Tigers, filmed sacred mask rituals and dances of North American natives, recorded soul music classics with legendary recording artists, searched for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World in South America, chased Caribou herds on the Arctic Circle, joined numerous hunts for Bigfoot and featured scientific/medical breakthroughs. Working in the documentary or reality world, Peter and Sheera von Puttkamer bring a unique vision and creative talent to every aspect of production. Gryphon programs have inspired the creation of Festivals and retrospectives in Italy and Brazil. Gryphon films/series have helped inspire whole TV genres. Programs for TLC/Discovery Channel/CTV such as “Sasquatch Odyssey” and “Monster Hunters” revealed the strange world of cryptozoology to a new TV audience in 1999. “Sasquatch Odyssey” won several awards and was selected for the prestigious 1999 IDA Doctober Festival screenings in Los Angeles- qualifying it for Academy Award nomination. “Monster Hunters” produced for TLC screened at the New York International Independent Film Festival in New York and LA and has won 2 Platinum Awards at the 2002 Worldfest Houston. In 2003-04, Gryphon created & wrote/directed/produced an 8 hour, 24 segment series “Beyond Invention” for Discovery Channel which aired worldwide and is currently running on Discovery’s Science Channel in the US. Winner of 3 American Indian Film Festival Awards, Peter enjoys a special relationship with First Nations/Native American and indigenous people: these films have had a major social, cultural and political impact wherever they are shown. In 2006, Gryphon produced/directed a Television Special “Domus Mactabilis-Real Monster Houses” for the Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis/Sony Pictures Feature Film- “Monster House”. Gryphon’s two-hour special, “The Real Lost World” was a hit on Animal Planet & Discovery HD Theater and Discovery Channel International; The CINE award-winning “Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey”- a 2 Hr. award-winning History Channel Special was shot in the Amazon and 5 countries, featuring National Geographic Explorer in Residence Wade Davis (author-“The Serpent and the Rainbow” on voodoo); the “Peyote to LSD” program is about the life of plant-explorer Richard Evans Schultes and how his discoveries of hallucinogens changed the western world. A one hour wildlife special— “UAKARI: Secrets of the English Monkey” aired on Animal Planet’s Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom, BBC Natural World and CBC Nature of Things. The program won a CINE Golden Eagle Award and features Red Uakari monkeys (filmed here for the first time in the wild) and conservation work being done for the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society/Bronx Zoo). Gryphon produced the big-screen HD exhibit film: “Where Rivers, Mts. and People Meet” for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Ctr. at Whistler, B.C. Recently, Gryphon produced nationally US broadcast: PBS (WNET- Secrets of the Dead) SPECIAL: “Lost in the Amazon”- about Col. Percy Fawcett’s search for the lost city of Z- in the Brazilian Amazon. From 2011-14, they produced two seasons of Biggest and Baddest - a wildlife-travel-adventure series featuring biologist-adventurer Niall McCann for Animal Planet and Discovery International. Season Two of Biggest and Baddest has is now airing on National Geographic Wild and Discovery Channel worldwide. In 2015, the series won top platinum awards at WORLDFEST HOUSTON and nominations from the Hollywood community- at the prestigious Environmental Media Awards held at Warner Brothers Studios, alongside HBO VICE, and feature films like Mad Max- Fury Road and Interstellar. A third Season of Biggest and Baddest is currently in development. After a successful “Killing Bigfoot” pilot with Discovery Networks in 2014, Gryphon is producing the Docu-Reality Series “Killing Bigfoot”- for Destination America (Discovery US) and Travel and Escape Canada: US broadcasts will begin in early 2017. Recently signed to The Gersh Agency in Hollywood, Peter/Sheera and Gryphon Productions currently have specials/series in development with various networks. A. Film & TV- University of British Columbia Sheera von Puttkamer- Producer B.A.- UBC, Masters in Fine Arts- University of Southern California