At the Hudson Valley Film Commission, we’re never surprised to see the names of colleagues we’ve worked closely with, attached to large international projects.
Photographer, the new National Geographic TV docuseries that just premiered on Disney and Hulu, is a perfect example. The series follows world-renowned photographers as they embark on visually stunning adventures where every frame tells an inspiring and evocative story.
Brent Kunkle, who worked extensively in the Mid-Hudson Valley, ended up as a producer across all six episodes of Photographer. He is credited as co-executive producer for the series. Pre-production involved the casting process with more than 40 photographers around the world. Production included filming in Romania, Jordan, The Netherlands, The Bahamas and the American West. Post-production included helping to shepherd the edits to delivery.
As a field producer, Brent worked on episode 1, Win or Die featuring Paul Nicklen and Christina Mittermeier; episode 2, Hidden Wonders featuring Arnand Varma; episode 5 featuring Krystle Wright, and episode 6 featuring Muhammed Muheisen.
We reached out for more specifics.
“I got involved in Photographer through a director/showrunner named Pagan Harleman,” Kunkle answered. “I was a producer for her on two seasons of Matt Heineman's Showtime series The Trade in 2017 and 2019. Fast forward a few years and Pagan was brought on as a showrunner for Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi's company Little Monster Films (Wildlife, The Rescue, Free Solo, Incorruptible, A Normal Life). As a Nat Geo photographer, Jimmy was always hearing amazing field stories from his photographer peers. He and Chai wanted to create a verite driven series honoring how those visual storytellers see the world.”
See trailer below for Photographer
Brents last project in the Hudson Valley was as a producer and UPM for Adrian Garcia Bogliano's werewolf drama Late Phases (a/k/a Night of the LoneWolf) starring Ethan Embry, Nick Damici and Tina Louise from Gilligan’s Island. The Glass Eye Pix film focused on a secluded retirement community that is plagued by mysterious and deadly attacks until a grizzled war veteran moves in, rallies the residents, and discovers a beast is behind the killings.
When producers Brent Kunkle and Larry Fessenden reached out for help finding a retirement community, the film commission worked behind the scenes to see if the Gardens of Rhinebeck would be available. Laurent Rejto from the film commission arranged a meeting with David Silver from the Kirchhoff Company, which was re-developing the complex. "He went out of his way to help," remembers Rejto. "He offered dozens of units and even said that they could smash walls and windows.” The producers were stunned by his willingness to help. “That townhouse complex was an absolute triumph!!,” Brent recalls. “I miss the Glass Eye days for sure and working in Hudson Valley but I’ve really found my footing in the doc world. Turns out that Late Phases was my last hurrah in the scripted world.“
Nick D’Amici, Brent Kunkle, David Silver, Laurent Rejto and Adrian Garcia Bogliano on location in Rhinebeck
Bitter Feast director Joe Maggio sets the scene with director of photography Mike McDonough and producer Brent Kunkle.
Previous to Late Phases, Brent worked on a series of "pulp" thrillers with Glass Eye Pix/Dark Sky Films, including Joe Maggio's Bitter Feast, (starring James LeGros and Joshua Leonard) and Jim Mickle's Stake Land, (starring Nick Damici, Connor Paolo and Kelly McGillis). As a co-producer Kunkle’s Hudson Valley credits also include J.T. Petty’s Blood Red Earth and the Blondie video, Mother, which was filmed at Kingston Studios.
Sending best wishes to Brent for his future endeavors as a verité driven documentary producer. As a film commission, we also hope to somehow woo him back to the region for a future project.
