CameraPro On The Couch with Abraham Joffe

Abraham Joffe ACS is an international-award-winning Australian cinematographer, director and producer with over 20 years of filming experience. He is a CASA-certified drone pilot and an experienced underwater camera operator whose drive to share unique stories has seen him travel to some of the most remote corners of the planet. In 2017 he was named Australian Cinematographer of the Year by the ACS and received the highly coveted MILLI Award for his work on the Netflix series Tales by Light. We caught up with Abraham to chat about how his interest in storytelling came about and the value of filmmaking in generating awareness and affecting change.

For three years in the early to mid-90s, Abraham soaked in awe-inspiring landscapes, fascinating wildlife and unique personalities. He attributes this incredible childhood experience as setting him on his filmmaking path. His parents were writing books about Australia’s greatest living unknown identities. They ventured to every inch of the continent, from the Great Barrier Reef to rainforests and deserts and met with scientists, drovers, Aboriginal Elders, and World War I veterans. Abraham sat in on many of the interviews, and even at 11, those stories stood out to him; he was acutely aware of how special it was to speak to someone who had fought in the trenches in World War I.

Also instrumental was the experience of meeting Australian filmmaker Malcolm Douglas whose series and documentaries were a staple of Australian TV for 40 years. Abraham and his family spent several weeks with Malcolm on his crocodile farm in Broome, and Abraham got to see Malcolm at work producing films. Abraham spent the next several years sending Malcolm short projects and petitioning for the opportunity to work for him one day.

"Those years of meeting people like Malcolm who had extraordinary and very unique lives and had just really done their own thing, I saw that everywhere I turned. So to do your own thing seemed like the normal thing to do."

Abraham’s persistence paid off, and only a year out of school, he found himself back in Broome, working as a cameraman on a series Malcolm was creating. Filming crocodile and fishing stories in the remote Kimberley region with a pioneering wildlife documentarian like Malcolm Douglas was an enormous opportunity not lost on the budding filmmaker. By the time Abraham was in his early 20s, he was already on his path.

Financial incentives in the ’90s and early 2000s brought the production of big-budget feature films to Australia, and living in Sydney at the time, Abraham picked up work as an extra on several of them. He observed cinematography idols at work and gained crucial insight into the inner workings of large studio productions. The experience was pivotal in identifying his filmmaking direction. Being on the set of blockbuster films was undeniably exciting, but he had a clear preference for the intimate workings of smaller productions where everyone is a decision-maker and gets their hands dirty. And despite having a massive appreciation for theatrical fiction, he was undeniably drawn to documentary filmmaking and the unscripted stories of the real world.

"No experience is a wasted experience. Even if it tells you - this is not where I want to be. That's still valuable"

Like many aspiring filmmakers trying to make ends meet, Abraham picked up work doing corporate videos and weddings. What started as a means to pay the bills and buy camera gear soon took over, leaving him little time to cultivate any passion projects. The paid work was not without satisfaction and enjoyment, but there was an undeniable feeling of being trapped within his success - a sense of having abandoned his authentic objective. Unprepared to compromise any longer, Abraham stepped away from the security of corporate video to pursue documentary filmmaking full-time.

Since returning to his documentary roots, Abraham has persistently created opportunities and capitalised on any within his reach. It was self-initiated video projects about camera gear that put him on Canon’s radar and led to a conversation about filming some interviews with a handful of Canon Masters. Abraham took that small assignment, squeezed every drop out of the budget, made the pivotal decision to shoot it in 4K, and created Tales By Light. Originally premiering on the National Geographic Channel in Australia and New Zealand, it was later picked up by Netflix and streamed globally across the platform. The series' massive success led to two more seasons and helped solidify his career as a documentary cinematographer, director and producer.

During the production of season two of Tales by Light, Abraham met wildlife photographers Jonathan and Angela Scott while covering their story in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve.  Jonathan and Angela connected so well with Abraham and his team that they decided to collaborate on a new series for Animal Planet - Big Cat Tales. The two-season series follows the lives of the Masai Mara's lions, leopards and cheetahs and closely explores their individual characters.

Abraham, a dynamic and spontaneous creator, appreciates the nimbleness of operating within a tight-knit group with the same work ethos. He has teamed up with long-term creative partners to form Untitled Film Works, and together they seek out engaging and compelling real-life stories to tell. When searching for new projects to pursue, Abraham is guided by his curiosities and interests rather than trying to predict what might be popular, choosing to bring awareness to issues of environmental and social importance. 

A CASA-certified drone pilot and an experienced underwater cameraman, Abraham incorporates stunning imagery from all perspectives with a skilled understanding of light to masterfully piece together exquisite storytelling sequences that give real-life narratives a cinematic feel. These filmmaking techniques artfully engage viewers, compelling them to connect emotionally with the explored issue and take action. 

Photo by: Eric Cheng (Abraham Filming Tiger Shark)

"It needs to be entertaining. You need to draw people in. It can't be too sciency or too preachy. If something's too heave, people won't engage, so there is a balance that I've learned that you need. But if you find that balance, you can reach a big audience."

With the seemingly unending flood of dire news stories, Abraham firmly believes in seeking out and shining a light on success stories. While issues such as the climate crisis and the collapse of biodiversity must remain at the forefront, hope is essential, and celebrating tangible successes reminds people that positive change is possible and inspires audiences to continue with practical actions.

These days priorities have shifted a little for Abraham. Less time is spent in the field shooting, and more time is spent at home with his young family. He still loves being on location and behind the camera but is more selective when undertaking new projects that take him away from home. Stepping into producing roles now offers him a way of staying creative without the need to be in the field all the time - flexibility he’s very thankful to have forged for himself.

Check out the entire conversation here to learn more about Abraham and his career in documentary filmmaking.