Grumpy Turtle Films

Turns out when you spend enough time together, you start dressing the same - and what better time to properly introduce ourselves than when we’re wearing VERY bright matching sailing gear?

Hello 👋 We’re Harriet and Woody: partners in life and filmmaking, and the two humans behind Grumpy Turtle Films.

We specialise in underwater and natural history storytelling, working across production services for broadcasters and organisations that give a damn about the planet, as well as producing our own films.
Between us, we’ve worked on projects for National Geographic, PBS, ABC and Disney+.

Right now, we’re in production on our first feature documentary, have been sailing up the NSW coast on a Greenpeace campaign, and are fresh from exploring the incredible biodiversity of the Coral Triangle.

Thanks for following along. 🐢

💙 📷 First image by and image three by

Early morning sun rays and a busy coral reef = 🤌

Underwater moments in Raja Ampat, Halmahera and Gorontalo - these regions are home to some of the most biodiverse reefs in the Coral Triangle. 🎥🪸

Diving with 🤿

We 💙 seagrass and all the critters that call these meadows home.

These gorgeous shots by , took home a Silver Award at .nsw last year (very late to the party on sharing this news!). Woody used extended wide angle macro system to get down amongst the seagrass and shoot from an unusual point of view — capturing something you don’t often see from a species that never stops surprising us. 🐙✨

In the 1960s, a proposal to mine limestone at a reef off the coast of Mission Beach sparked a multi-year battle that would change the fate of the Great Barrier Reef forever. 🪸

‘Ellison: The Reef That Saved Them All’ traces a moment in Australian history where ordinary people spoke up and changed everything, leading to the creation of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Now, nearly 60 years on, a new generation of reef stewards has returned to repeat the original survey.

The film premieres at this weekend! 🎬 The first screening is sold out, but tickets to the second screening on Saturday 21st March are still available. We’re excited to share this one with you!

🎬 The following folks brought this together:

Directer and Producer:
Producer, AMCS:
Cinematography:
Editor:
Colour Grade: Justin Tran
Sound Mix: Jimmy Saunders
Marine Support: Reef Ecologic, Mission Beach Dive

What a thrill to pitch our feature documentary, Seahorse School, at AIDC - Australian International Documentary Conference PitchFACTory last week! 🌊

Set in one of the busiest harbours in the world, Seahorse School follows two marine biologists fighting to save the endangered White’s Seahorse, and a cinematographer unexpectedly transformed by a species where the male gives birth. A story where science, fatherhood and legacy intertwine.

Pitching to a room full of international decision-makers felt electric, with sharing his own story onstage to an overwhelming response. We’re so proud to have taken home the Doc Edge Prize.

We can’t wait to share this beautiful and powerful film with you all 💙
Huge thanks to our wonderful partners Icon Film Distribution ANZ Minderoo Foundation Screen NSW and Mind the Gap for their support. 🙏

In the sixties, the submission of a proposal to mine limestone at a reef off the coast of Mission Beach marked the beginning of a multi-year battle to protect the Great Barrier Reef from oil and gas exploration. 🤯

We returned to that reef - Ellison Reef - with our friends at .au recently to (quite literally) dive deeper into the story and produce a film that will be released next year. 🪸 🐟

Big love to our pal for joining us on the Reef for this special project! 🎥

Big smiles at the recent Australian Cinematography Society NSW/ACT awards where was awarded two gold awards for his underwater work. Thank you to the .nsw judges and everyone involved with these two projects, and a huge congrats to the other incredibly talented winners. 🎥 🌊

🥇 Underwater Emotions - Art Innovation and Specialised Cinematography
🥇 Love and Light - Ron and Valerie Taylor Wildlife & Nature

We are so thrilled to have been selected as a Wildpitch finalist at this year! 🎥

After receiving over 70 applications, 9 projects from emerging and established environmental filmmakers around the world were chosen to be pitched at Wildscreen Festival 2024. 🎉

will be pitching a project we’ve been developing over the last year with our wonderful friends at live on stage! If you’re at this year, you can watch all finalists pitch on Wednesday 16th at 3.30pm.

A day underwater with some of our favourites - giant cuttles, blue gropers and a couple of friendly sharks 🐟

It feels like most of the giant cuttlefish we meet have distinct personalities. Some are shy and others, like this beauty, will let you swim alongside them all morning. 🥰✨😍