The Book of George
2025 | Coast Film & Music Festival
Duration: 15 min
Synopisis
From Brooklyn's concrete jungle to the heart of the Everglades, meet George McKenzie Jr., a Black photographer transforming his lens into a beacon of change. Swapping the weight of a gun for the promise of a camera, George found his calling amid nature's raw grandeur, capturing everything from city pigeons and rats to elusive panthers. His unique perspective earned him the title of National Geographic Explorer, but his mission runs deeper than recognition. George, a rare gem in the predominantly white canvas of wildlife photography, is empowering kids of color to shift their gaze to conservation. He's proof that the color of your skin shouldn't define the wild dreams you pursue, nor the impact you aspire to make.
Featured at Coast Film & Music Festival 2025
Production Team
Danny Schmidt is an award-winning director, producer, and cinematographer of non-fiction television, documentaries, short films. He has produced, directed, and photographed documentary films for clients including PBS, National Geographic, Netflix, Disney+, EarthX, NASA, and many others. He won an Emmy award for cinematography for his DP work on the Disney+ film Path of the Panther and another for best topical documentary for Finding Traction on Netflix. He received his MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking in 2012 from Montana State University. And he won 2024 CFMF Best Short for his film 4DWN.