ABOUT ARGOFILMS
ArgoFilms is dedicated to producing films that make a difference. Our productions have won 6 National Emmys (11 nominations), a duPont Columbia Award for journalism, multiple Genesis, Jackson Hole, CINE Golden Eagles, and over 80 international awards from New Zealand to Canada, Slovakia to Japan.
It is our mission to inspire understanding and compassion through film. Champions of endangered life, we attempt to provide a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves – be it endangered elephants, chimpanzees in captivity or people compromised by a changing world.
ABOUT FOUNDER ALLISON ARGO
Producer, Director, Writer, Editor Allison Argo has been making films for over 25 years, traveling the globe searching for gorillas in the Impenetrable Forest, combing the Amazon for endangered frogs and scouring the underbelly of Bangkok in search of displaced elephants. Raised in the theater, she enjoyed a successful acting career on Broadway and television, but a chance encounter in the late 90’s propelled her to move behind the camera.
The seeds for ArgoFilms were planted when she met a gorilla named Ivan living in a shopping mall in Tacoma, Washington. Ivan had lived in isolation for nearly three decades. Concerned about the lives of gorillas in captivity, Argo was compelled to write, produce and direct her first film “THE URBAN GORILLA.” The film was narrated by Glenn Close and broadcast by National Geographic in 1992.
The Urban Gorilla earned the prestigious duPont-Columbia award for journalism, a Genesis Award, the Jackson Hole Newcomer’s Award and was nominated for two national Emmys – but more important, after the film aired, Ivan was moved to Zoo Atlanta so that he could live with other gorillas.
Argo went on to produce, direct, write and narrate 18 films for National Geographic and PBS. Her second film, KEEPERS OF THE WILD, won a national Emmy Award for directing. THE LAST FROG also won a national Emmy, and major awards from Jackson Hole, Missoula and Japan. THE SECRET LIFE OF CATS also received a national Emmy and major awards from Jackson Hole, Japan, and Missoula.
Her film THE URBAN ELEPHANT, for which Argo won two National Emmys – one for Directing and the other for Outstanding Documentary – profiled 10 elephants living in captivity. This landmark film (for PBS and Nat Geo) was the inspiration for a film currently in development, THE STORY OF DAO. In the spirit of the beloved tale Black Beauty, this deeply moving story follows an elephant through fifty years of life. Alternately heartbreaking and uplifting, the film is inspired by a true story.
Argo has made 14 films with National Geographic. She has also produced, directed and written numerous films for PBS, including CHIMPANZEES: AN UNNATURAL HISTORY, which received a National Emmy in 2007, a Genesis, a Christopher and numerous other awards. This ground-breaking film takes a hard look at the lives of thousands of chimpanzees living in North America. Other films for PBS include: WISDOM OF THE WILD; FROGS: THE THIN GREEN LINE; EXTRAORDINARY DOGS; and CRASH: A TALE OF TWO SPECIES, which received a national Emmy nomination.
Argo’s most recent film, THE LAST PIG, continues her mission to speak out for the silenced. Through this powerful true story, she hopes to inspire compassion for all living beings and to repair the disconnect between humans and what we consume. This award-winning film has played at 42 film festivals and at hundreds of screenings internationally..
In addition to making films, Allison is devoted to inspiring the next generation through internships and presentations at institutions, conferences, museums, and schools around the world.
Her current production, Forever HOME, will soon enter the editing phase. The film captures life at a Farm Animal Refuge and their groundbreaking "Animal-Centered Design," offering a new blueprint for animal care. Stay tuned!
Allison Argo and her company are based on Cape Cod.