Biography
Geoffrey Euwer O’Connor is an Academy Award-nominated director, producer and writer who specializes in creating dramatic and compelling narratives, often with a humorous twist. He recently directed two documentaries for National Geographic Channel about addiction in the U.S. that are to air in late 2012. After being educated in Europe and the United States, Geoff spent a decade working in Brazil where he made four documentaries and over fifty news reports about life in the Amazon for National Geographic, PBS, ITN News, France 2, CBS and others. One of those films about an Indian tribe on the brink of extinction, “At The Edge of Conquest”, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1992. In the mid 1990s Geoffrey signed with Michael Moore to work on his show “TV Nation.” A year later Geoffrey won an Emmy as one of the producers for this critically acclaimed nonfiction series. In 1997 he joined the English TV presenter Louis Theroux to help create and direct the two-time BAFTA award winning satirical series “Weird Weekends,” which The Independent of London called “one of the most charming, embarrassing and surprising documentary series of recent years.” In the span of a decade, Geoffrey directed eight documentaries for “Weird Weekends” including “Porn,” considered a cult classic in Britain, and “The Most Hated Family in America,” which in 2007 was one of the ten most highly rated TV shows for BBC 2. Geoffrey continues to make films for the BBC’s Documentary Features Unit ranging in subject matter from meth addiction in California to legal brothels in Reno, Nevada. In 2002, Geoffrey wrote and directed the comedic film “Four Simple Rules,” which received a “Best Short” nomination at the 2003 Deauville Film Festival. His nonfiction book, “Amazon Journal: Dispatches from a Vanishing Frontier,” was chosen by both the New York Times and the LA Times as one of the best works of literary nonfiction in 1998. Geoff’s start in the business was as a director of photography at CBS’ “60 Minutes” and then as a producer for CBS Evening News. He has gone on to shoot a number of feature documentaries interspersed with his work as a Director-Cameraman. Amont these works are the Sony Pictures film "Exporting Raymond" and the Ted Turner produced "Voice of the Amazon." Geoffrey's work as a director and writer has been profiled by The New York Times, CNN, PBS, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Times of London, Jornal do Brasil and “Best Life” magazine. Geoffrey was educated at Columbia University, The London School of Economics, and AFI’s Center for Advanced Film Studies as a Directing Fellow. He holds EU and US passports and he divides his time between New York and London.
