Alan Root obituary

One of the first film-makers to bring African wildlife to televisionAlan Root was a pioneering wildlife film-maker whose life often seemed to be something out of an Indiana Jones movie. Yet despite his larger-than-life character he always put the animals' story at the heart of his films, and prided himself on "keeping it real" throughout his long and innovative career. In the words of Sir David Attenborough, "Alan Root made natural history film-making grow up."Alan, who has died aged 80, was one of the first people to bring Africa's wildlife to our screens. He was best known for his contributions to Anglia Television's long-running series Survival, many made in partnership with his first wife, Joan. One of these - the 1978 film Mysterious Castles of Clay, about the hidden life of a termite mound - was nominated for an Academy Award. He also introduced Dian Fossey to her first mountain gorillas, and later shot some of the wildlife footage for the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist. Continue reading...