{"id":25709,"date":"2025-06-19T10:51:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T02:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/?p=25709"},"modified":"2025-07-17T13:25:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T05:25:55","slug":"making-waves-in-documentary-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/making-waves-in-documentary-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Making waves in documentary film"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ed Punchard.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From surviving the world\u2019s worst offshore oil rig disaster to uncovering long-lost shipwrecks on the ocean floor, Ed Punchard has charted quite an extraordinary career course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a submersible pilot, maritime archaeologist, and award-winning documentary filmmaker, the managing director of Immersive Experiences is pushing the boundaries of how people explore and understand the past beneath the waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in two coastal and fishing towns in the UK \u2013 Conwy and Dartmouth \u2013 the Curtin maritime archaeology graduate said his affinity for the sea was no accident \u2013 it was inherited. My mother is from Brixham, and my father is from Dartmouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrixham\u00a0was once the greatest fishing town of England, Dartmouth the home of Britannia College, where Britain\u2019s Royal Navy trains its officers,\u2019\u2019 Ed recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrixham used to have hundreds of boats \u2014 beautiful working sailboats that would go out for four or five days at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were always books about ocean voyages and sailing ships on our shelves growing up. It was all around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess it\u2019s no surprise I made my permanent home in Fremantle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1988, while working as a commercial sea diver in the North Sea, a catastrophic oil rig disaster changed Ed\u2019s life forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night, 167 lives were lost in what has become the worst offshore oil disaster in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"offshore
Surviving the worst offshore oil rig disaster changed Ed’s life forever.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The tragedy galvanized a new chapter in Ed\u2019s life, eventually leading him from the treacherous waters of the ocean to the academic shores of maritime archaeology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I remember it was ten o’clock at night. I was at my desk, just looking at the screen\u2014then boom, the ceiling fell on my head,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFiling cabinets flew through the air and fell over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Explosions are strange. Unless you’ve been near one, you can\u2019t understand. The shockwave goes right through you. It’s not just a sound – it\u2019s physical.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed said despite his office being bomb-proof it still took a major hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything was a blaze. Smoke blocked the main exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEventually, I climbed down a rope and was picked up by the standby rescue vessel, an aging mex fishing vessel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As more huge explosions rocked the rig, at one point I climbed over the side of the standby vessel to escape the heat of the flames and held onto a rope for dear life, knowing if I let go I could sink as I was wearing heavy rig boots.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was towed through the sea for what felt like forever but must have been a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankful to survive that night, Ed turned trauma into purpose – spending the next chapter of his life writing a best-selling book on the disaster and making documentaries to share stories that mattered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"curtin-graduate-ed-punchard\"
Turning his trauma into purpose, Ed is passionate about sharing stories that matter. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1991, Punchard founded Prospero Productions<\/a>, a Fremantle-based documentary production house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the following decades, he would go on to produce and\/or direct more than 350 films for television and giant screen formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His body of work spans collaborations with nearly every major global broadcaster, including the BBC, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, ITV, France 5, ABC, and SBS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed\u2019s films are more than narratives; they are often full-scale expeditions into some of the planet\u2019s most remote and historically rich maritime environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Australia, film is driven by substance. Unlike the commercial focus of Hollywood or Bollywood, our stories need cultural weight to justify funding,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNational identity matters and whether it’s fiction or fact, our films should carry the voice of this place. That\u2019s what gives them meaning and that\u2019s what excites me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If you\u2019ve got the imagination, there\u2019s always something powerful to find in the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond filmmaking, Punchard\u2019s expertise and passion have also driven real-world maritime exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ed
Ed is a passionate maritime explorer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

His work has contributed to the discovery or documentation of a host of significant underwater sites: from the Broome air raid wrecks to the Batavia\u2019s graveyard off the Abrolhos Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also collaborated with some of the most respected figures in the field, including Dr. George Bass, the father of maritime archaeology, and oceanographer Robert Ballard, renowned for locating the Titanic wreck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honoured twice as an associate of the Western Australian Museum Ed has also worked with the Bodrum Institute of Nautical Archaeology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His leadership extends well beyond the field and film set \u2013 serving as Chairman of Screenwest, Western Australia\u2019s state film funding agency, and the HMAS Sydney Foundation. He was recently nominated as a member of the celebrated Explorers Club of New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now at the helm of Immersive Experiences, Ed continues to merge his passions for technology, exploration, and storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a life marked by survival, reinvention, and relentless curiosity, Ed\u2019s work not only brings the hidden past to life but also lights the way for future generations of explorers, storytellers, and dreamers who dare to venture beneath the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

___<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \n\n

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