Diego Buñuel
Encyclopedia
Diego Buñuel is a French film-maker born in 1975 and the host and director of the National Geographic Channel
series, Don't Tell My Mother
. He is also the host of a television news show in France called Les Nouveaux Explorateurs, broadcast on Canal Plus.
.
Diego received his bachelor's degree
from Northwestern University
, majoring in journalism
, minoring in politics
, and then interned for various newspapers such as the Times Picayune in New Orleans, the San Francisco Examiner, the Saint Louis Post Dispatch, the Miami Herald and the Chicago Tribune
before going to work for the Sun Sentinel as lead crime reporter.
In 2000, he did his French military service in Bosnia and was stationed in Sarajevo
—which led him to a specialization in war reporting.
Back in France, he started working for the press agency CAPA as a war correspondent
. He covered 9/11, the 2001 US intervention in Afghanistan, was embedded with the US Marine Corps in 2003 for a month as his unit traveled from Kuwait
to Baghdad
. After that he went on to follow the Second Congo War
, the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Yasser Arafat
's funeral in Ramallah
and did a special report on the rise of evangelical Christians in George Bush's America, among some 50 other news stories.
In 2006 he shot the first episode of the series Don't Tell My Mother
, co-produced by Canal+
and the National Geographic Channel
, where he offers a new look on rarely traveled areas affected by conflicts and wars such as Afghanistan
, Colombia
, North Korea
, Congo
, Venezuela
, Israel
, Iran
, Iraq
, The Balkans (Croatia
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, Serbia
and Kosovo
) and Pakistan
.
In 2008 Buñuel created his own production studio named Buñuel Production and produced season 2, 3 (Johannesburg-Lagos, Delhi-Dakka, Beirut- Le Caire, Mexico-São Paulo, Tokyo-Manille) and 4 (Russia, Indonesia, Somalia, Kazakhstan and USA) of his show. He is now producer and director at Explorer, a company created in conjunction with CAPA. After spending four years travelling to 25 countries, trekking through war zones, and mixing it up in the world’s mega-cities, Diego Buñuel is now journeying to the far reaches of the planet to discover its forbidden zones. The first episode SIACHEN: THE BATTLEGROUND ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD will be completed by the end of 2011.
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
series, Don't Tell My Mother
Don't Tell My Mother
Don't Tell My Mother is a television programme hosted by Diego Buñuel and shown on the subscription television channel Nat Geo Adventure.For the past ten years Diego Buñuel has been a foreign correspondent for French Television covering all kinds of countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, or the...
. He is also the host of a television news show in France called Les Nouveaux Explorateurs, broadcast on Canal Plus.
Biography
He is the grandson of Spanish film director Luis BuñuelLuis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
.
Diego received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, majoring in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, minoring in politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, and then interned for various newspapers such as the Times Picayune in New Orleans, the San Francisco Examiner, the Saint Louis Post Dispatch, the Miami Herald and the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
before going to work for the Sun Sentinel as lead crime reporter.
In 2000, he did his French military service in Bosnia and was stationed in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
—which led him to a specialization in war reporting.
Back in France, he started working for the press agency CAPA as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
. He covered 9/11, the 2001 US intervention in Afghanistan, was embedded with the US Marine Corps in 2003 for a month as his unit traveled from Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. After that he went on to follow the Second Congo War
Second Congo War
The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; however, hostilities continue to this...
, the 2004 tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
's funeral in Ramallah
Ramallah
Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
and did a special report on the rise of evangelical Christians in George Bush's America, among some 50 other news stories.
In 2006 he shot the first episode of the series Don't Tell My Mother
Don't Tell My Mother
Don't Tell My Mother is a television programme hosted by Diego Buñuel and shown on the subscription television channel Nat Geo Adventure.For the past ten years Diego Buñuel has been a foreign correspondent for French Television covering all kinds of countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, or the...
, co-produced by Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
and the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, where he offers a new look on rarely traveled areas affected by conflicts and wars such as Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, The Balkans (Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
) and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
In 2008 Buñuel created his own production studio named Buñuel Production and produced season 2, 3 (Johannesburg-Lagos, Delhi-Dakka, Beirut- Le Caire, Mexico-São Paulo, Tokyo-Manille) and 4 (Russia, Indonesia, Somalia, Kazakhstan and USA) of his show. He is now producer and director at Explorer, a company created in conjunction with CAPA. After spending four years travelling to 25 countries, trekking through war zones, and mixing it up in the world’s mega-cities, Diego Buñuel is now journeying to the far reaches of the planet to discover its forbidden zones. The first episode SIACHEN: THE BATTLEGROUND ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD will be completed by the end of 2011.