John Driftmier
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John Driftmier (November 24, 1982 – February 24, 2013) was a Canadian documentary director. His works included Dangerous Flights, Licence to Drill, and Ice Pilots NWT.
Early life[edit]
Driftmier was born in 1982 in Calgary, Alberta to parents David Driftmier and Sophia Lang.[1] He graduated from Simon Fraser University in 2007. While studying film at SFU, Driftmier produced and directed the film The Story of a Lifetime, both a tribute to and using footage shot by his grandfather, Frederick, who as a teacher in 1941 had shot amateur films in Sudan.[1]
Driftmier married Carolyn Allen in 2010. They lived in Ottawa, Ontario.[1][2]
Career[edit]
Driftmier worked in more than 30 countries. He shot a company of northern Canadian pilots in the television series Ice Pilots NWT. In Highway Thru Hell, he documented the stories of a towing company involved in salvage operations in the British Columbia interior in extreme weather conditions. He co-created Pyros, a TV documentary series looking at people who create firework displays.[1]
In 2013, while in Africa to film an episode of Dangerous Flights, documenting the experiences around the world of pilots delivering used commuter airplanes, Driftmier was killed at age 30 in a plane crash in Mount Kenya Forest.[1]
The documentary series Cold Water Cowboys, which Driftmier co-conceived with Tyson Hepburn, debuted in February 2014.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Renzetti, Elizabeth (March 19, 2013). "He was hungry for adventure: Calgarian tracked Arctic oil drillers, Atlantic salvage ships and, ironically, risk-taking pilots", The Globe and Mail, p. S6.
- ^ (February 25, 2013). "TV doc cameraman, director John Driftmier dies at 30: Credits include Dangerous Flights, Licence to Drill, Ice Pilots NWT", CBC News. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Lederman, Marsha (February 24, 2014). "'The most dangerous profession in the world': The new series Cold Water Cowboys, which follows Newfoundland fishermen into treacherous waters, has a tragic backstory", The Globe and Mail, p. L3.