Philip J Day
Encyclopedia
Philip J Day is a British Documentary
film director
and Peabody Award
winner. His documentary credits include, National Geographic Channel
, Discovery
, BBC TV, Channel Four (UK), The History Channel
, TLC
and PBS.
In 2006, he began his own production company ‘‘Edge West Productions
’’. Over the years Day has developed a strong working relationship with National Geographic Channel. Between 2005 and 2009 Day wrote, produced, and directed twelve films for National Geographic and PBS. Seven of these films were produced by his company. Inside Rio Carnival, The Real Roswell, Tunnel to a Lost World, Lost Cities of the Amazon, The Skyjacker That Got Away, Great Escape: The Final Secrets, and the latest film Nasca Lines The Buried Secrets.
Day currently resides with his family in Santa Monica, California. In his spare time Day races in triathlons for children’s charity and teaches filmmaking to students.
. This allowed Day to attend the international Peterhouse School
in Marondera
, Zimbabwe
. Day was moved back to England to finish High School. He graduated from Ackworth School
in West Yorkshire.
Philip Day is the youngest of three children. His brother, Martyn Day
gained notoriety when The Times cited him as one of the most powerful and influential lawyers in the UK. The Times has continued to write about his achievements each one more powerful than the next. Martyn has also written his own articles for the Guardian and for the Times. Philip Day has one daughter, Kaya, born in London.
in the neighboring country of Marondera
, Zimbabwe
, but was moved back to England to finish High School at Ackworth School
in West Yorkshire
. Day is an alumnus of Ackworth School
. Day continued his education by attending film school at Harrow College
. He was graduated with Honors obtaining a B.A.
in Photography, Film, and Television. The school is now known as Middlesex University
.
He has worked with notable writer, director Robert Rodriguez appearing in the director’s well known BBC video Ten Minute Film School.
Day wrote and directed several TV Documentaries for National Geographic including a film about DB Cooper, a man who has eluded the FBI for over thirty years.
Many of his documentaries explore the unknown mysteries of ancient civilizations. Lost Cities of the Amazon for National Geographic investigates the tragic loss of life to indigenous Amerindians along the Amazon River
from disease like influenza
brought unwittingly by Spanish Conquistadors after 1492 (some experts believe up to ninety percent of the population perished in the first century of white explorers). Day also works on more scientific based series. His documentary on ancient medicine explores the origins of plastic surgery to 3,000 years before Hollywood face-lifts.
His documentary about the Luxor Massacre Massacre In Luxor has been featured on PBS and BBC News.
InFocus Productions has called Phil Day, "one of Britain's most prolific documentary film makers."
Day began his career working as a video editor in television. His first TV job was for Channel Four (UK) called The Media Show, which was similar to the US current affairs radio program The Media Show
. In 1989, Day wrote and directed his first full length documentary Japan Live Performance for Channel 4 Television (UK) and the Arts Council of Great Britain
–The film won the Golden Gate Award for ‘Best of Category, Television: Fine Arts and Musical Variety’ at the San Francisco International Film Festival
in 1991.
For more than a decade Day worked in London
as a freelance director, writer and producer for BBC TV, Channel 4 and ITV. He produced and directed over sixty films in this time achieving many awards and receiving major press accolades. Moving Pictures for BBC TV won the prestigious UK Indies Award for Best Art Series. It was on Moving Pictures that Day started a long relationship with Hollywood, traveling to meet with stars and practitioners for in depth interviews. In 1997 Day produced a documentary about the fledgling animation studio Dreamworks
called From Dream To Screen. It told the story how Jeffrey Katzenberg
, Steven Spielberg
and David Geffen
opened their new studio with Prince Of Egypt, the story of Moses. By the end of the 1990s Day had established a strong relationship with American broadcasters, such as PBS the History Channel and the Discovery Channel
. Day’s most notable films during this period includes Hello Mr. President, which garnered him a prestigious Peabody Award and an Emmy Nomination. The eminent journalist Sir Charles Wheeler wrote and narrated the documentary, which revealed for the first time some of the secret recordings taken by Lyndon B Johnson in his first days in Office as President following the assassination of John F. Kennedy
in 1963.
In 2000, Day created an award winning series for The Learning Channel called Why Doctors Make Mistakes. In 2001, Day produced the highly successful documentary High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas which partnered the director with Emmy Award
winning actor Ray Liotta
. In 2002 Day used his Hollywood contacts to launch a major BBC/Discovery three-part series, The Hollywood Machine, (aka Hollywood, Inc.) The series examined the key reasons behind blockbuster success and dismal failure. Denzel Washington
, Hugh Jackman
, and Jude Law
are just a few of the luminaries who appear in the film. The series played round the world gaining good ratings and excellent press reviews. The Times
of London, described it as "highly entertaining", The Observer
wrote it was "a must for all aspirants of film".
Some of Day's most noted films are the 2001 International Emmy Award Nominee Challenger
: Go For Launch, and The Johnson Tapes, winner of one News and Documentary Emmy Award
and three Emmy nominations plus two New York Telly Awards
. In 2010 Day's company Edge West won a coveted Telly Award for the production of The Skyjacker That Got Away. In July 2010 it was announced that Philip J. Day was nominated for an Emmy Award
at the 2010 News and Documentary Emmy Awards for the film The Skyjacker That Got Away,. The winner will be announced on Sept 27th, 2010.. In 2010 Edge West were awarded with three more Telly Award's, for Great Escape: The Final Secrets, Tunnel To A Lost World, and The Lost Cities of the Amazon, all of which were produced and directed by Philip J Day.
for National Geographic Channel
. But in the early hours one morning the project took a dangerous turn. At around 3.45 am five armed men, wearing face masks, scaled a twenty foot wall to break into the hotel where Mr. Day and his team were asleep. The company was filming extensive recreations, so a large team of thirty-four people was staying at the hotel. The assailants first broke into the apartment of the hotel management, taking receptionist Rosa Miranda Parodi, 55, and the manager, Delcy Rojas, 48, hostage at gunpoint. The receptionist was bound and gagged while the manager was forced to provide a master key for all the bedrooms. The attackers had specifically come to steal expensive film equipment and demanded to know where the ‘gringos with the cameras’ were asleep.
However, Ms. Rojas refused to aid the assailants, instead leading them to a room where two drivers were sleeping. Both men were bound with wrapping tape, but even though they were beaten with a rifle butt they refused to give their attackers any information. Three more rooms were entered and terrified crew members were awakened with guns at their heads. The five robbers had every intention of going through each room until they located Mr. Day and his cameraman, Wes Dorman. The hostage siege had been quietly taking place for nearly an hour when the hotel owner’s son, Jose Maria Pautrat, 25, arrived home from Lima. When Jose realized that a robbery was taking place he was able to leave the building and contact the police. Meanwhile, driver Carlos Rioja managed to break free and ran through the hotel calling for help. Quickly, crew members assembled and searched to find their attackers.
Several computers, phones and photographic cameras were stolen, but the actions of Delcy Rojas and Carlos Rioja saved the crew from a much more severe and potentially life threatening robbery. Subsequently, the film crew has been provided with 24 hour armed protection from district police for the last few days of their film shoot. Producer, Philip Day commented, “It was an incredible and terrible ordeal, especially for those held by these dangerous and desperate attackers. I am amazed by the heroic actions of the hotel and my crew. I’d also like to thank the Nasca police and local authorities for their excellent assistance in this extraordinary and harrowing incident.”
on Inside the Warrior Gene, Craig Ferguson
in My Friend Hellman & Friday At The Dome,
Alan Rickman
Tango With Ninagawa,
Ray Liotta
High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas,
Brian Cox The Late Show,
Peter Coyote
National Geographic Explorer,
Akiva Goldsman
, & Ridley Scott
Hollywood Inc.,
Morwenna Banks
Signals,
Jon Ronson
The Ronson Mission, and
Mick Jagger
Passion, Pride & Penalties.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
winner. His documentary credits include, National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, Discovery
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, BBC TV, Channel Four (UK), The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
, TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
and PBS.
In 2006, he began his own production company ‘‘Edge West Productions
Edge West Productions
Edge West Productions is an American documentary film and television production company founded by Peabody Award winning director, Philip J Day.The company was formed in 2006 to better facilitate Day's status as a Documentarian...
’’. Over the years Day has developed a strong working relationship with National Geographic Channel. Between 2005 and 2009 Day wrote, produced, and directed twelve films for National Geographic and PBS. Seven of these films were produced by his company. Inside Rio Carnival, The Real Roswell, Tunnel to a Lost World, Lost Cities of the Amazon, The Skyjacker That Got Away, Great Escape: The Final Secrets, and the latest film Nasca Lines The Buried Secrets.
Day currently resides with his family in Santa Monica, California. In his spare time Day races in triathlons for children’s charity and teaches filmmaking to students.
Early life
Philip Day was born in Harrogate, England, United Kingdom. He and his family moved to Africa, when Phil was eleven years old. They lived in Kabwe, ZambiaZambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
. This allowed Day to attend the international Peterhouse School
Peterhouse Group of Boarding Schools
The Peterhouse group of schools is based in Marondera, Zimbabwe.The Peterhouse group of Anglican boarding schools has 1,045 students on 1200 Ha in Marondera, Zimbabwe, and comprises Peterhouse, Peterhouse Girls', the Preparatory School, Springvale House, Peterhaven at Nyanga and the Gosho Park...
in Marondera
Marondera
Marondera is a town in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe, located about 72 km east of Harare; population 39,384...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Day was moved back to England to finish High School. He graduated from Ackworth School
Ackworth School
Ackworth School is an independent school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of eight Quaker Schools in England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and SHMIS . The Head is Kathryn Bell, who succeeded...
in West Yorkshire.
Family
Philip is son of Hazel Day, a notable actress and opera singer and Brian Day, a chartered accountant. Hazel is most well known for performances with the York light Opera company from 1963-1965. Her most popular performances were in Kiss Me Kate, Song Of Norway, and finally Kismet.Philip Day is the youngest of three children. His brother, Martyn Day
Martyn Day
Martyn Day is the Senior Partner at Leigh Day & Co specialising in international, environment and product liability claims, often as group actions...
gained notoriety when The Times cited him as one of the most powerful and influential lawyers in the UK. The Times has continued to write about his achievements each one more powerful than the next. Martyn has also written his own articles for the Guardian and for the Times. Philip Day has one daughter, Kaya, born in London.
Education
While living in Zambia, Day attended the international Peterhouse SchoolPeterhouse Group of Boarding Schools
The Peterhouse group of schools is based in Marondera, Zimbabwe.The Peterhouse group of Anglican boarding schools has 1,045 students on 1200 Ha in Marondera, Zimbabwe, and comprises Peterhouse, Peterhouse Girls', the Preparatory School, Springvale House, Peterhaven at Nyanga and the Gosho Park...
in the neighboring country of Marondera
Marondera
Marondera is a town in Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe, located about 72 km east of Harare; population 39,384...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, but was moved back to England to finish High School at Ackworth School
Ackworth School
Ackworth School is an independent school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of eight Quaker Schools in England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and SHMIS . The Head is Kathryn Bell, who succeeded...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
. Day is an alumnus of Ackworth School
Ackworth School
Ackworth School is an independent school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of eight Quaker Schools in England. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and SHMIS . The Head is Kathryn Bell, who succeeded...
. Day continued his education by attending film school at Harrow College
Harrow College
Harrow College is the largest college in the London Borough of Harrow. It opened in 1999 following a merger of two former local colleges, Greenhill College and Weald College .Ofsted has reported the college as Outstanding for Social and Educational Inclusion...
. He was graduated with Honors obtaining a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Photography, Film, and Television. The school is now known as Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
.
Career
Philip J Day, sometimes credited, Phil Day or Philip Day, has well over one hundred credits as writer, producer or director on hour-long network TV documentaries. He has specialized in historical and social films using elaborate recreations and dynamic interviews to tell his stories. He is a well known and respected documentarian in the filmmaking world.He has worked with notable writer, director Robert Rodriguez appearing in the director’s well known BBC video Ten Minute Film School.
Day wrote and directed several TV Documentaries for National Geographic including a film about DB Cooper, a man who has eluded the FBI for over thirty years.
Many of his documentaries explore the unknown mysteries of ancient civilizations. Lost Cities of the Amazon for National Geographic investigates the tragic loss of life to indigenous Amerindians along the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
from disease like influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
brought unwittingly by Spanish Conquistadors after 1492 (some experts believe up to ninety percent of the population perished in the first century of white explorers). Day also works on more scientific based series. His documentary on ancient medicine explores the origins of plastic surgery to 3,000 years before Hollywood face-lifts.
His documentary about the Luxor Massacre Massacre In Luxor has been featured on PBS and BBC News.
InFocus Productions has called Phil Day, "one of Britain's most prolific documentary film makers."
Day began his career working as a video editor in television. His first TV job was for Channel Four (UK) called The Media Show, which was similar to the US current affairs radio program The Media Show
The Media Show
The Media Show is a British current affairs radio programme and podcast on BBC Radio 4 which examines the current state of the media. The first episode was broadcast at 13:30 on 1 October 2008, with episodes broadcast weekly...
. In 1989, Day wrote and directed his first full length documentary Japan Live Performance for Channel 4 Television (UK) and the Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
–The film won the Golden Gate Award for ‘Best of Category, Television: Fine Arts and Musical Variety’ at the San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
in 1991.
For more than a decade Day worked in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as a freelance director, writer and producer for BBC TV, Channel 4 and ITV. He produced and directed over sixty films in this time achieving many awards and receiving major press accolades. Moving Pictures for BBC TV won the prestigious UK Indies Award for Best Art Series. It was on Moving Pictures that Day started a long relationship with Hollywood, traveling to meet with stars and practitioners for in depth interviews. In 1997 Day produced a documentary about the fledgling animation studio Dreamworks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
called From Dream To Screen. It told the story how Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
opened their new studio with Prince Of Egypt, the story of Moses. By the end of the 1990s Day had established a strong relationship with American broadcasters, such as PBS the History Channel and the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
. Day’s most notable films during this period includes Hello Mr. President, which garnered him a prestigious Peabody Award and an Emmy Nomination. The eminent journalist Sir Charles Wheeler wrote and narrated the documentary, which revealed for the first time some of the secret recordings taken by Lyndon B Johnson in his first days in Office as President following the assassination of John F. Kennedy
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
in 1963.
In 2000, Day created an award winning series for The Learning Channel called Why Doctors Make Mistakes. In 2001, Day produced the highly successful documentary High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas which partnered the director with Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winning actor Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
. In 2002 Day used his Hollywood contacts to launch a major BBC/Discovery three-part series, The Hollywood Machine, (aka Hollywood, Inc.) The series examined the key reasons behind blockbuster success and dismal failure. Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, and Jude Law
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law , known professionally as Jude Law, is an English actor, film producer and director.He began acting with the National Youth Music Theatre in 1987, and had his first television role in 1989...
are just a few of the luminaries who appear in the film. The series played round the world gaining good ratings and excellent press reviews. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London, described it as "highly entertaining", The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
wrote it was "a must for all aspirants of film".
Some of Day's most noted films are the 2001 International Emmy Award Nominee Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger
Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California...
: Go For Launch, and The Johnson Tapes, winner of one News and Documentary Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and three Emmy nominations plus two New York Telly Awards
Telly Awards
The Telly Award is an award presented by the namesake, New York City-based organization. The stated purpose of the award is to "honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the Web." The...
. In 2010 Day's company Edge West won a coveted Telly Award for the production of The Skyjacker That Got Away. In July 2010 it was announced that Philip J. Day was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
at the 2010 News and Documentary Emmy Awards for the film The Skyjacker That Got Away,. The winner will be announced on Sept 27th, 2010.. In 2010 Edge West were awarded with three more Telly Award's, for Great Escape: The Final Secrets, Tunnel To A Lost World, and The Lost Cities of the Amazon, all of which were produced and directed by Philip J Day.
Held At Gunpoint
In 2009 Producer Philip J. Day and his team had been filming in the desert of southern Peru on a film about the mysterious Nazca LinesNazca Lines
The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The high, arid plateau stretches more than between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of Lima...
for National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
. But in the early hours one morning the project took a dangerous turn. At around 3.45 am five armed men, wearing face masks, scaled a twenty foot wall to break into the hotel where Mr. Day and his team were asleep. The company was filming extensive recreations, so a large team of thirty-four people was staying at the hotel. The assailants first broke into the apartment of the hotel management, taking receptionist Rosa Miranda Parodi, 55, and the manager, Delcy Rojas, 48, hostage at gunpoint. The receptionist was bound and gagged while the manager was forced to provide a master key for all the bedrooms. The attackers had specifically come to steal expensive film equipment and demanded to know where the ‘gringos with the cameras’ were asleep.
However, Ms. Rojas refused to aid the assailants, instead leading them to a room where two drivers were sleeping. Both men were bound with wrapping tape, but even though they were beaten with a rifle butt they refused to give their attackers any information. Three more rooms were entered and terrified crew members were awakened with guns at their heads. The five robbers had every intention of going through each room until they located Mr. Day and his cameraman, Wes Dorman. The hostage siege had been quietly taking place for nearly an hour when the hotel owner’s son, Jose Maria Pautrat, 25, arrived home from Lima. When Jose realized that a robbery was taking place he was able to leave the building and contact the police. Meanwhile, driver Carlos Rioja managed to break free and ran through the hotel calling for help. Quickly, crew members assembled and searched to find their attackers.
Several computers, phones and photographic cameras were stolen, but the actions of Delcy Rojas and Carlos Rioja saved the crew from a much more severe and potentially life threatening robbery. Subsequently, the film crew has been provided with 24 hour armed protection from district police for the last few days of their film shoot. Producer, Philip Day commented, “It was an incredible and terrible ordeal, especially for those held by these dangerous and desperate attackers. I am amazed by the heroic actions of the hotel and my crew. I’d also like to thank the Nasca police and local authorities for their excellent assistance in this extraordinary and harrowing incident.”
Notable Collaborations
Day has worked with such individuals as Henry RollinsHenry Rollins
Henry Rollins is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, writer, comedian, publisher, actor, and radio DJ....
on Inside the Warrior Gene, Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson is a Scottish American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS...
in My Friend Hellman & Friday At The Dome,
Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
Tango With Ninagawa,
Ray Liotta
Ray Liotta
[File:Ray Liotta is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Henry Hill in the crime-drama Goodfellas, directed by Martin Scorsese and his role as Shoeless Joe Jackson in Field of Dreams...
High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas,
Brian Cox The Late Show,
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
National Geographic Explorer,
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman
Akiva J. Goldsman from Walker Valley, New York is an American screenwriter and film producer. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Oscar for Best Picture....
, & Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
Hollywood Inc.,
Morwenna Banks
Morwenna Banks
Morwenna Banks is a British comedy actress, writer and producer.Banks is perhaps best known in the UK as a cast member of the British Channel 4 comedy series Absolutely, where her best-known character was a schoolgirl who sat on the edge of a desk.She appeared as the Keeper of the Rules in the...
Signals,
Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...
The Ronson Mission, and
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
Passion, Pride & Penalties.
Documentaries
(As Director)- "Japan Live Performance" (1989) Channel 4 (UK)
- "The Day Comics Grew Up" (1989) Channel 4 (UK)
- "The Best of British Snaps" (1989) Channel 4 (UK)
- "The Hero Strikes Back" (1990) Channel 4 (UK)
- "The Seduction of Style" (1990) Channel 4 (UK)
- "Tango With Ninagagwa" (1991) BBC TV
- "The Ronson Mission" (1993) BBC TV
- "The ABC of Democracy" (1994) Channel 4 (UK)
- "The Mind Field" (1995) Channel 4 (UK)
- "Without Walls" (1996) Channel 4 (UK)
- "Moving Pictures" (1996) BBC TV
- "Hello Mr. President" (1997) Channel 4/ History Channel
- "Cancer Wars" (1998) Channel 4/Discovery
- "Casualty 250" (1998BBC TV
- "Passion, Pride & Penalties" (1998) BBC TV
- "The Johns ) on Tapes" (1999) Channel 4 (UK)/ History Channel
- "Riddle of the Skies" (1999) Channel 4 (UK)/ Discovery
- "Challenger: Go For Launch" (2000) BBC TV/Discovery
- "Why Doctors Make Mistakes" (2000) Channel 4 (UK)/TLC
- "High Stakes: Bet Your Life on Vegas" (2001) TLC
- "Hollywood Inc" (2002) TLC
- "City of the God Kings" (2002) Channel 4 (UK) / Discovery
- "Massacre in Luxor" (2002) BBC TV/ NHK
- "Mind of a Millionaire" (2003) BBC
- "Ancient Plastic Surgery" (2005) Channel 4 (UK)/ Discovery
- "Megastructures" (2005) National Geographic
- "Inside Rio Carnaval" (2007) PBS
- "The Real Roswell" (2007) National Geographic
- "Lost Cities of the Amazon" (2008) National Geographic
- "Tunnel to a Lost World" (2008) National Geographic
- "Great Escape The Final Secrets" (2009) National Geographic
- "The Skyjacker That Got Away" (2009) National Geographic
- "Nasca Lines The Buried Secrets" (2010) National Geographic
- "Explorer 25 Years" (2010) National Geographic
- "Born To Rage?" (2010) National Geographic
Awards
- Golden Gate Award - 1991 "Japan Live Performance" – Best Arts Documentary
- Best Short Comedy - 1995 "My Friend Hellman"
- Best Music and Arts Series – UK Indie Awards, London 1997 "Moving Pictures"
- Best Historical Documentary – Grierson Award Finalist, 1998 "Hello Mr. President"
- Peabody Award Winner - New York 1998 "Hello Mr. President"
- British Medical Association Certificate of Educational Merit, London 2000 - "Why Doctors Make Mistakes"
- News and Documentary Emmy Nominee – New York 2000 "The Johnson Tapes"
- Telly Awards – New York, 2000 "The Johnson Tapes"
- Telly Awards – New York, 2002 "Challenger: Go For Launch"
- News and Documentary Emmy Nominee – New York 2002 "Challenger: Go For Launch"
- News and Documentary International Emmy Award– New York 2004 "The Johnson Tapes"
- Telly Awards – New York, 2010 "The Skyjacker That Got Away"
- Telly Awards – New York, 2010 "Great Escape: The Final Secrets"
- Telly Awards – New York, 2010 "Lost Cities of the Amazon"
- Telly Awards – New York, 2010 "Tunnel To A Lost World"
- News and Documentary Emmy Nominee – New York 2010 "The Skyjacker That Got Away"