Allison Argo

Argo has been making films for the past 20 years, but her experience in the film and entertainment industry extends back to childhood. Raised in theater, she first pursued acting, performing Ibsen and Tennessee Williams on Broadway and starring in movies and television series in Los Angeles. While on location she met a gorilla named Ivan living alone in a shopping mall in Washington State; that encounter led her to move behind the camera and produce and direct her first film, *The Urban Gorilla*, which highlighted the lives of captive gorillas and inspired a movement to rescue Ivan from his solitary existence. The film, narrated by Glenn Close, received numerous awards, including two Emmy nominations, and began Argo’s long association with National Geographic. Her early acting career provided familiarity with production that gave her a foundation as a filmmaker and continues to give her a creative edge today. Over the past 20 years she has produced, directed and written nearly two dozen award‑winning films, traveling worldwide to search for chimpanzees in the mountains of Tanzania, endangered frogs in the Amazon and displaced elephants in Bangkok. While her primary focus is endangered wildlife, she has also produced award‑winning films about humans; through partnerships with National Geographic and PBS her work has reached audiences globally. Argo’s films have earned more than 100 international awards, including six national Emmys (with 11 nominations), DuPont Columbia, Genesis, Jackson Hole, New York Festival, Cine, Banff and numerous honors from New Zealand to Japan. She is noted for emotionally charged, deeply personal stories; her filmography includes *Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History*, *The Secret Life of Cats*, *Crash: A Tale of Two Species*, *Frogs: The Thin Green Line* and *The Urban Elephant*, which garnered two Emmys (one for directing, one for producing) and contributed to a shift in how elephants in captivity are perceived and cared for.