Craig D. Forrest
Craig D. Forrest (born July 13, 1956) is an American filmmaker best known for producing, directing and lensing shows, stories and documentaries that often have involved difficult or dangerous overseas locations while exploring unique subjects ranging from voodoo to holocaust to silent film. Forrest's projects for notable tv and cable networks have been considered diverse in that his body of work encompasses various genres across a broad spectrum, including non-fiction, investigative journalism, sports, music and journeys of faith. Various projects and shows he has produced or directed have earned numerous video awards, most notably a CINE Golden Eagle. His network filmmography has included projects and assignments for CBS, ABC, HBO, Discovery Channel, A&E, Animal Planet, PBS, UPN, Fox Sports, American Movie Classics and Travel Channel. Journeys of faith and compassion have often involved humanitarian, charitable and ministry clients such as World Vision, Samaritan's Purse, International Aid, Mission of Mercy, Billy Graham, United Cerebral Palsy, and Childhelp usa.
Biography
Early Life
Forrest was born in Visalia, California and grew up in Lodi, CA. He shot his first 8mm film at age 13, while living in Salinas, CA. He attended Sweetwater High School (National City, California), graduating in 1973. He would go on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Biblical & Theological Studies at Bethany University in Santa Cruz, CA in 1977.
1980s
Forrest's career began as a promo writer-producer for the Inspiration Networkin Charlotte, North Carolina. He then moved overseas to Brussels, Belgium working at Continental Theological Seminary. From 1983 to 1986 Forrest was a media producer for World Vision International in Monrovia, CA. A major 3-part video project he directed, The City For God's Sake, explored the dynamics of urban ministry, including reconciling Christians and Muslims in East Africa. The series was marketed by WVI's M.A.R.C. division and was shot on-location in India, Kenya, England, Holland and Mexico. Numerous video assignments for the Assemblies of God in Springfield, MO followed, involving travel to 50+ countries and 5 continents. One of these projects, a 13 part video series exploring world religions, beliefs and cultures, was Unreached People. Locations included the Ganges River, the Great Wall of China, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Red Square, The Kremlin, The Vatican, Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids, the Ginza District, Dome of the Rock, the Acropolis, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Kowloon, Victoria Falls, St. Mark's Square, Djemaa el Fna and Plaza Mayor.
1990s
Forrest continued to produce, shoot and direct documentaries, news, feature, sports, entertainment, music, promotional, motivational and inspirational segments for a diverse array of clients. He served as the West Coast field producer for ABC's In Concert late-night tv series. Difficult assignments took him on-location to Haiti to field produce voodoo segments for History Channel, to Havana, Cuba undercover to investigate the Communist nation's [...] industry for A&E and to Cambodia to document the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge brutalities along The [...] Fields. In 1994, Forrest directed the Paris, France pilot episode of the PBS global travel series, Traveling Lite, hosted by best-selling suspense author, Brad Thor.
2000s
As the documentary production world began to change, the bulky Betacam SP and film equipment gave way to much smaller DVCAM equipment and later smaller HD cameras that would enable Forrest to take smaller crews or no crews on field assignments.
Forrest recently completed a Master's degree in Film Studies at the prestigious Chapman University film school and became a member of the exclusive Travelers' Century Club, whose members have traveled to at least 100 countries. Recently, he has spoken and taught film, television and digital production classes and workshops, both domestically and overseas. Forrest is currently the Owner-Producer of Windsock Films. In 2008 he was a coordinator for the Emmy winning CBS hit series Amazing Race.
Awards
Forrest has won numerous Telly, Aegis, Communicator, Aurora and Accolade awards. . He's also a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Interesting Locations
Craig Forrest has worked in an amazing array of interesting locations around the planet from the jungles of Africa, to the cobblestone streets and cathedrals of Europe, dusty Latin American favellas, ice-capped New Zealand glaciers, Asian muddy klongs, Dakar, Diyarbakir, Iraq, Vietnam, Great Wall of China, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, slums of India, Cuba, mosques of the Middle East, Australia, Russia, war & famine torn regions, to the Presidential Suite in Singapore and every conceivable locale in between. He's also been to most every state in America.
Personal
Forrest has two children (Andrew and Anneke) and is married to hospital administrator Rebecca Mangual Forrest and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. He is an avid Los Angeles Kings hockey fan.