Page title Name
Victor Buhler
Director/Cameraperson, Producer/Director (Self-shooting)
England

Victor's Biography

Victor Buhler has directed and produced award-winning fiction and documentary films.
His most recent documentary feature film, entitled Africa10, tells the story of how football is transforming Africa.  The film features many legendary African footballers, from Emmanuel Adebayor to Roger Milla, and famous African leaders such as Kofi Annan and Desmond Tutu.  The film was shot in eight separate African countries and will be released in September 2010 (www.africa10.com)
Victor was Consulting Producer on the feature documentary Countdown to Zero, directed by Lucy Walker.  The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival 2010.
Victor directed and produce the feature documentary Rikers High, abut the high school for teens incarcerated in Rikers Island jail.  This film was nominated for an Emmy in 2006 and won the 'NY Loves Film' Award for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival.  The film was a co-production of Showtime and France 2.
Martin Scorsese executive produced Victor's fiction short Chaperone which was nominated for a Student Academy Award.  The film screened on HBO in the States and received numerous awards worldwide, including at the AFI Festival in Los Angeles.
Victor has directed drama programming for the BBC and for Channel 4.  His 2009 half-hour drama for Channel 4, Foreign John, debuted at the Edinburgh Film Festival.  He directed six episodes of the BBC Wales series Belonging which won a BAFTA Cymru for Best Dramatic Series.
Victor has shot documentaries for numerous networks including: HBO, Showtime, The Discovery Channel, Channel 4, TLC, MSNBC, AMC and MTV.
Doug Liman, director of The Bourne Identity, executive produced a television drama that Victor wrote and directed for Fox Television. 
Victor shot a series of films for The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, reporting on their charitable work to combat malaria in Africa.
Recently he won a grant from the United States Institute of Peace to complete a film about peace negotiators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
Victor, from London, studied and later taught filmmaking at Harvard University in the States and at New York University's Tisch Graduate Film School, where his teachers included Ross McElwee and Spike Lee.  


Credits

RIKERS HIGH - SHOWTIME NETWORKS USA , United States of America
2005 - Producer/Director (Self-shooting)
RIKERS HIGH a feature length documentary, follows a year at America's most extreme high school - located in the adolescent wing of the country's largest jail, Rikers Island.
The documentary came out in America in 2005 and was nominated for a Documentary Emmy.
The film also won the 'NY Loves Film Award for Best Documentary' at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Victor Buhler shot, produced and directed the feature documentary.



COUNTDOWN TO ZERO - Participant , United States of America
2010 - Other
Documentary Feature Film about the threat of Nuclear Weapons.
Sundance Film Festival 2010
Featuring Jimmy Carter Mikhail Gorbachev, Tony Plair, FW de Klerk
Narrator: Gary Oldman
Directed by Lucy Walker, Producer Lawrence Bender

FOREIGN JOHN - IWC / RDF / Channel 4 , United Kingdom
2009 - Director
A one-off half-hour drama written by Sean Buckley. Produced by IWC as part of Channel 4's "Coming Up" series for promising British directors.
Stars Johnny Harris and Claudie Blakley.
Debuted at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
"4 out of 5 stars" - Time Out London
"4 out of 5 stars" - The Daily Mail



LONE STAR - 20th Century Fox , United States of America
2005 - Writer
Writer of "Lone Star", a dramatic television pilot for 20th Century Fox. A mix of "Dallas" and the "O.C." I created and sold the idea for this series to 20th Century Fox.
I wrote the pilot script and I also directed the 'pilot presentation' from which Fox greenlit further development.
Executive Producer: Doug Liman

AFRICA10 - Africa 10 LLC , United States of America
2010 - Director
AFRICA10 is a film that tells the story of modern Africa through the continent's shared passion - the game of soccer. The film features great stories about life and football, shot in seven African countries. The stories are intermixed with profiles of major stars of the African game past and present. We have also interviewed some of Africa's most inspiring leaders, including Kofi Annan and Reverend Tutu. The film details Africa's journey through and beyond the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - the biggest global event to take place on the continent.

Employment History

Please view attached CV and Filmography

Education

TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS GRADUATE FILM SCHOOL
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, USA,  9/97-3/98
Master of Fine Arts (Film)
Concentrated in Writing and Directing.
Martin Scorsese Award for most promising student
- TISCH SCHOLARSHIP

HARVARD UNIVERSITY, USA,  9/91 - 8/95
Bachelor of Arts (Visual Studies) Magna cum Laude
Professors included Ross McElwee and Spike Lee
Temple Hoopes Prize for outstanding thesis
- JOHN HARVARD SCHOLAR
- HARVARD COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP

ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL, UK,  Graduated in 1990
3 'A' Levels
11 GCSEs





Technical Equipment

Sony EX-3 and accessories
Sony Z1U and accessories
Canon 5D and accessories
Full sound and lighting package for documentary location work.

Referees

A list of referees and referrals gladly provided upon request

Industry Awards

Nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy (for Rikers High)

Winner, New York Loves Film Award for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival (Rikers High)

Welsh BAFTA for Best Dramatic Series (Belonging)

Casey Award For Outstanding Journalism (No Place Like Home)

Chaperone received awards at:
Academy Awards (nomination for Student Oscar)
AFI Festival
Hamptons Film Festival
Big Muddy Festival
Indiana Film Festival
Portland Film Festival
Cine Granada
Cambridge Shorts Fest
Method Film Festival

Warren Street received awards at the:
BBC British Short Film Festival
Columbus Film Festival
Breckenridge Film Festival





Skills

I am an award-winning documentary director, cameraman and producer.  I have shot films in numerous locations across the world.  I am able to work in challenging and stressful environments. 

I pride myself in developing deep connections with the people I am filming in a short amount of time.  I am hard-working, earnest and determined: a good leader and equally an excellent member of a team.

Additional Information

Industries

  • TV

Programme Types

  • Arts, 
  • Biography, 
  • Current Affairs, 
  • Documentary, 
  • Drama Reconstruction, 
  • Dramatised Documentary, 
  • Food, 
  • Mental Health, 
  • Music, 
  • Observational Documentary, 
  • Reality TV, 
  • Sport, 
  • Travel

Specialisms

  • Africa, 
  • Cinema/Film, 
  • Current Affairs, 
  • Drama, 
  • Final Cut Pro, 
  • Football, 
  • Journalism, 
  • Location Filming, 
  • News & Current Affairs, 
  • Outside Broadcast, 
  • South Africa, 
  • South East Asia, 
  • Sport, 
  • Transport, 
  • Travel, 
  • USA

Languages

  • English, 
  • French, 
  • Spanish

Permits

  • USA

Licenses

  • Basic Driving (PLG)