Sophie Dia Pegrum
Birth : , Bristol, United Kingdom
History
Sophie is a British American film director and documentary cinematographer who has produced and shot films in the Antarctic, at the North Pole and in the Himalayas. Her documentary films include "77 Below", shot on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica and featuring artist Lita Albuquerque and her ephemeral art installation "Stellar Axis". The award winning "Talking to the Air: The Horses of the Last Forbidden Kingdom" was shot on the border with Tibet in the high Himalaya. Though she has recently been focused on documentary, her debut narrative feature film "Dogstar", was a tragic love story between an otherworldly recluse and a misfit junkie. The film was billed as a rustic Colorado update of O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi and critics described it as "pleasingly sensuous" and a "well-crafted, winsome fairy tale". Sophie also co-directed and lensed the upcoming documentary "Daughters of the Curved Moon" shot in remote villages in West Nepal and has also shot another upcoming doc directed by Stephen Fisher, entitled "Elders Speak" on the Paiute Shoshone in the Owen's Valley. She is currently shooting another documentary "Jorgo", on the maverick and youthful horsemen of Kyrgyzstan and working on a story about The Camarillo family of California and the legacy of their rare White Horses. Sophie co-owns and runs Horsefly Films, a production company based in Los Angeles. As well as promotional films for world class equine clientele worldwide, Horsefly Films are producing through their "Rare Equine Trust" a series of documentaries focussed on rare horses and vanishing equine cultures. Their award winning films "Path to Glory", "Tarpan", "Of Gods and Kings" and "Talking to the Air" are available at www.rareequinetrust.com.
Director
Though a legal recognition of a third gender ranks Nepal as a leader in transgender rights, the reality of transforming from son to daughter is fraught with obstacles. Despite this, Meghna Lama has a dauntless attitude and spirited laugh - both a powerful reminder of not only what it is to be transgender in Nepal, but ultimately, what it is to be human.
Writer
The world’s most magnificent horsemen face an unsure future in one of the planet’s last great equine cultures. The Tibetan Buddhist region of Mustang in the High Himalaya is the Last Forbidden Kingdom and their unique heritage and remarkable spiritual bond with the horse is under threat. In a land where a man’s wealth can still be measured in horses, death defying races are the colorful back-drop for this story of the ascent of civilization in the high Himalaya. With lush cinematography, and insightful intervieww, the film also recounts the little known story of the CIA’s covert operations in Mustang, and features rare archival footage of the Dalai Lama’s flight on horseback over the Himalaya. The scholarly and perceptive voices of Dr. Sienna Craig - author of "Horses Like Lightning" and Mikel Dunham, author of "Buddha's Warriors" turn this lens to issues of globalization, fragile border politics and the precarious future for Mustang’s distinctive equine culture.
Cinematography
The world’s most magnificent horsemen face an unsure future in one of the planet’s last great equine cultures. The Tibetan Buddhist region of Mustang in the High Himalaya is the Last Forbidden Kingdom and their unique heritage and remarkable spiritual bond with the horse is under threat. In a land where a man’s wealth can still be measured in horses, death defying races are the colorful back-drop for this story of the ascent of civilization in the high Himalaya. With lush cinematography, and insightful intervieww, the film also recounts the little known story of the CIA’s covert operations in Mustang, and features rare archival footage of the Dalai Lama’s flight on horseback over the Himalaya. The scholarly and perceptive voices of Dr. Sienna Craig - author of "Horses Like Lightning" and Mikel Dunham, author of "Buddha's Warriors" turn this lens to issues of globalization, fragile border politics and the precarious future for Mustang’s distinctive equine culture.
Director
The world’s most magnificent horsemen face an unsure future in one of the planet’s last great equine cultures. The Tibetan Buddhist region of Mustang in the High Himalaya is the Last Forbidden Kingdom and their unique heritage and remarkable spiritual bond with the horse is under threat. In a land where a man’s wealth can still be measured in horses, death defying races are the colorful back-drop for this story of the ascent of civilization in the high Himalaya. With lush cinematography, and insightful intervieww, the film also recounts the little known story of the CIA’s covert operations in Mustang, and features rare archival footage of the Dalai Lama’s flight on horseback over the Himalaya. The scholarly and perceptive voices of Dr. Sienna Craig - author of "Horses Like Lightning" and Mikel Dunham, author of "Buddha's Warriors" turn this lens to issues of globalization, fragile border politics and the precarious future for Mustang’s distinctive equine culture.
Cinematography
This is the story of mankind’s attempt to bring back a horse from the dead. Tarpan had roamed in wild herds across Europe for millennia, running through the dreams of our ancient ancestors. The film illuminates the dark past of the hunting lodges of Europe, miraculous scientific coincidence and the chilling efforts of the genetic breeders of the past. World Wars and doomed attempts to re-engineer the horse left a hopeless situation. Finally the careful work of an international group including the Polish State Studs, the work of biologists in the Netherlands and the tireless efforts of a dedicated group in Bulgaria brought a small herd of modern Tarpan to the remote mountains of Eastern Europe. Here the horse faces a whole new challenge, struggling to become wild once again and their ability to adapt to a thriving wolf population. As they bravely learn to find a way back to their ancient selves, heir future still hangs in a delicate balance.
Director
This is the story of mankind’s attempt to bring back a horse from the dead. Tarpan had roamed in wild herds across Europe for millennia, running through the dreams of our ancient ancestors. The film illuminates the dark past of the hunting lodges of Europe, miraculous scientific coincidence and the chilling efforts of the genetic breeders of the past. World Wars and doomed attempts to re-engineer the horse left a hopeless situation. Finally the careful work of an international group including the Polish State Studs, the work of biologists in the Netherlands and the tireless efforts of a dedicated group in Bulgaria brought a small herd of modern Tarpan to the remote mountains of Eastern Europe. Here the horse faces a whole new challenge, struggling to become wild once again and their ability to adapt to a thriving wolf population. As they bravely learn to find a way back to their ancient selves, heir future still hangs in a delicate balance.
Director
"Of Gods and Kings" is the incredible story of the unique and ancient Skyros Horse of Greece. The film captures the spirit and beauty of this endangered horse and the passionate people working tirelessly to save them. After thousands of years, standing alongside man in battle and in the field, this rare breed is facing extinction. These noble little horses, which should be celebrated as a Greek National Treasure, are an integral part of who we are and who we become. The debt to history remains and their future hangs in the balance.
Cinematography
"Of Gods and Kings" is the incredible story of the unique and ancient Skyros Horse of Greece. The film captures the spirit and beauty of this endangered horse and the passionate people working tirelessly to save them. After thousands of years, standing alongside man in battle and in the field, this rare breed is facing extinction. These noble little horses, which should be celebrated as a Greek National Treasure, are an integral part of who we are and who we become. The debt to history remains and their future hangs in the balance.
Cinematography
It can be said that the history of man is the history of the horse. Nowhere is that more true than in Poland with their beloved Arabian horse. This is the strange, unexpected story of far-flung lands as disparate as Egypt and the long-suffering Slavic kingdom of Poland coming together in war and in peace and influencing one another through the living history written on the backs of centuries of horses. This breathtaking film documents the unlikely, triumphant story of Poland's entrance onto the world stage via their worldwide influence on the breeding of one animal; how a beleaguered nation rose up to become the pinnacle of Arabian horse breeding, coming full circle from desert sands to the hallowed halls of Europe.
Director
It can be said that the history of man is the history of the horse. Nowhere is that more true than in Poland with their beloved Arabian horse. This is the strange, unexpected story of far-flung lands as disparate as Egypt and the long-suffering Slavic kingdom of Poland coming together in war and in peace and influencing one another through the living history written on the backs of centuries of horses. This breathtaking film documents the unlikely, triumphant story of Poland's entrance onto the world stage via their worldwide influence on the breeding of one animal; how a beleaguered nation rose up to become the pinnacle of Arabian horse breeding, coming full circle from desert sands to the hallowed halls of Europe.
Director
We’re grading on the curve here, for this entry in Laemmle’s indie series was made on not so much as a shoestring, but more of a frayed thread: $10,000. Still, first-time writer-director Sophie Pegrum has done remarkably well, getting far more than her money’s worth in style and skill onto the screen, abetted by Jaime Reynoso’s photography, amazing for the price. Charles Britton – RAVE Magazine
