DISCOVERY DOCUMENTARY 'Are We Safer?' has local ties

A Trumbull County native is an award-winning documentary filmmaker.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Craig Duff grew up on a 28-acre farm in Fowler. His sister is five years his senior, so he spent a lot of time alone playing in the nearby woods yearning to experience the world.
As a documentary writer, producer, director and editor, those fantasies became a reality with his work taking him to such locales as Egypt, Vietnam, England, Switzerland, India and Brazil.
"It's a challenging culture shock every time you go to a new place," he said
His latest film -- "Are We Safer?" -- will air at 8 p.m. Thursday on the Discovery Channel.
Employers
Duff's employers include CNN, Headline News, TBS, Discovery Channel and New York Times television. Currently, he is an independent documentary producer based in New York.
"What I do is explanatory journalism. I get the privilege of going on the aircraft carrier and then tell you in 45 minutes how it smells, what it looks like, how it works," said Duff.
Much of Duff's work involves the environment.
"I'm an avid outdoorsman, camper and hiker. I had an appreciation for it, so I kind of fell naturally into environmental reporting," Duff said.
He showed his first interest in film in fourth grade when he tried to create an animated film. Duff drew a leprechaun cartoon on wax paper and spooled it on empty Christmas ribbon rolls. He then filmed it through a contraption he made with a cardboard box, a borrowed lens and a flip-book technique.
"Of course it didn't work. I would learn later that you have to stop each frame in front of the lens," said Duff.
YSU theater
After graduating from Mathews High School, he entered Youngstown State University. While at YSU, he was involved in theater and student government, which helped him figure out his career path.
"My dad told me once he wouldn't pay for college if I were to study acting or something like that. I decided to study telecommunications. I don't know why I thought this was more practical. You can get a local job as a DJ. In terms of my aspirations it's certainly no more practical than trying to be an actor. It's just as competitive," said Duff.
Duff went to graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin. His thesis film project, "Eye for an Eye," won the equivalent of a student Emmy Award.
"I met a couple who devoted their marriage to a cause. They were fighting against the death penalty in the state that probably has the strongest death penalty in the country. They were Mennonites in Texas. I did a piece about their crusade," Duff said.
Chose CNN
Recruited after graduate school by CNN and Ohio University for bottom-rung positions, he chose the lower paying CNN, which offered a greater opportunity.
Within 10 years, Duff was an executive producer at CNN. His credits included CNN Presents programs, "War Birds," an inside look into the cockpit and how pilots are trained, and "Carrier at War," showing the inner workings of the USS John C. Stennis.
After achieving so much success, Duff did something many would consider career suicide. He took a year off to travel the world.
"As an executive I was spending a lot of time in meetings and wasn't going out and doing what I really wanted to do. I didn't mind leaving my career for a year to be able to do that. It was an incredible experience," he said.
The trip changed Duff's attitude about his career and his place in the world. He decided to leave CNN and pursue work as an independent producer.
"When I came back from my trip, I was offered full-time jobs, but what I like about my independence is I can say no to an assignment. Rarely do I turn things down. ... I developed humility about my life and work and redefined success about the work and not the status," Duff said.
Award winner
Duff has won numerous awards for his documentary films, including two Cable Ace Awards and a National Emmy. But it is the story he is telling and the places he will visit that are most important to him.
Now that he changed the direction of his career, he hopes to do the same with his daily existence.
"My grandfather lived an incredibly simple life. He was a farmer, and he understood the land. He was grounded. If I can be as grounded and content at the point which he was when he died, I think I will be successful," said Duff.