John Murray - Explorer and Filmmaker
His passion for the Franklin saga inspired John to back the Irish-Canadian Franklin Search Expedition that sought the underwater location of Erebus and Terror, Franklin's lost ships. As Managing Director of Ireland's Crossing the Line Films, he has produced eight films about the polar regions - five in the Arctic and three in the Antarctic. He will producing and shooting polar film number nine during the sailing of Weddell Sea and South Georgia.
John's association with Quark Expeditions is long. In 1996, he used
Kapitan Khlebnikov to transport a life boat to Elephant Island to
shoot the first film of the new era of interest in Sir Ernest
Shackleton. The resulting film—Escape from Antarctica—has been
shown around the world. The film documents an attempt by an
Irish crew to recreate the voyage from Elephant Island to South
Georgia. They sailed in a replica of the James Caird called the Tom
Crean. John reports, "They got half way and had to abandon after
various storms threatened to kill them all!"
John Won't Tell You so We Will
Crossing the Line was the first Irish documentary production company to move into High Definition. Working with a wide range of Irish and international broadcasters, the company's films have been broadcast in over 150 countires. In the last 19 years, John has directed over 30 films for some of the world's leading broadcasters; History Channel, National Geographic Channel, Discovery, Arte, ZDF and the national broadcasters of Ireland and Canada. Crossing the Line has won numerous national and international awards. The most recent was an Irish Film and Television Academy award in February 2010 for the ground-breaking documentary Blood of the Irish.