Franz Hafner is a journalist, photographer and film-maker specialising in nature and wildlife documentaries. He has focused on species and environmental conservation since 1982, gathering practical experience and in-depth knowledge of the behaviour of wild animals during his involvement in several wildlife research projects conducted in association with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. Throughout his career he has published numerous scientific articles and books and was awarded the Science Award of the Federal State of Carinthia in 1989.With this background, he directed several educational nature documentaries and films for the Ministry for Education and Cultural Affairs between 1995-1997. Since 1998 he has pursued a career as a writer/director of wildlife documentaries, working with Interspot Film on the production of several documentaries for the internationally renowned Austrian nature/wildlife series "Universum". As of June 2012 he holds a staff position at the company. Franz Hafner is a director who spares no effort in pursuit of exceptional wildlife footage. He demonstrates this once again with his current project “Asia’s Amazon – The Forbidden River”, where he has to work under harsh and challenging conditions at temperatures as low as -31°F. His enthusiasm and willingness to push the limits make his films extraordinary and have earned him numerous national and international awards.