David Vassar

Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning David Vassar is a film and television writer, director and producer with more than 30 years of industry experience. His most recent film, California Forever, which he wrote, directed and produced with Sally Kaplan, is a two-part PBS television special that tells the story of California’s magnificent state parks from 1864 to the present. California Forever is scheduled to air in Fall 2012 on KQED, San Francisco’s PBS affiliate.

Mr. Vassar’s recent roster of films includes Discover Hetch Hetchy (2006), an award-winning film hosted and narrated by Harrison Ford. The film served as the centerpiece for the Environmental Defense Fund campaign to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Save Our History – Yellowstone (2003) is a onehour special for the History Channel that examines Yellowstone’s current challenges set against the background of the park’s history. Spirit of Yosemite (2001) is a destination film about Yosemite National Park that was honored as the “Best Special Venue Program” at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. It was presented for two consecutive years at the Cannes Film Festival as an “Outstanding Achievement in Digital Cinema.”

In addition to producing programs about the natural world, Mr. Vassar has produced and directed films about music and dance at the La Guardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York City, the social implications of the return of Hong Kong to China and an exploration of the ancient Maya of Central America. He also has created "immersive" digital video environments for museums.

Mr. Vassar has earned a number of prestigious awards for his work. A River in Disguise (1986) was honored with five Los Angeles Emmy® awards. His first feature-length documentary, Generation On The Wind (1980), was nominated for an Academy Award as “Best Documentary Feature.” He has been internationally recognized by CINE, the Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Hawaii Film Festivals and won three Emmy’s® from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in D.C. At the age of 24, Mr. Vassar received a Silver Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival for his multimedia production, Replenish The Earth. During the 1990s, he was a primary director for the highly rated NBC television series Unsolved Mysteries.

Mr. Vassar’s first documentary film, Yosemite (1970), brought him to the attention of the National Park Service, where he later worked for two years as a park ranger in Yosemite Valley.

Today, Mr. Vassar’s production company, Backcountry Pictures, creates films and television programs that celebrate the beauty of nature and capture the history and culture of our surrounding communities. The company excels in producing programs that impart a sense of wonder about the natural world inspiring viewers to establish their own personal bond with nature.