Sid Perou

Directing

1937-04-19 · London, UK

Sidney Allen Bruce Perou, born April 19, 1937 in London, is a British cinematographer and director known for his work in caves. He has been called "world famous in caving and broadcasting", "probably the greatest cave filmmaker of all time", and "the man who brought caving to the masses". His work has received international acclaim. In the mid-1960s Peru worked as a sound recorder at Ealing Studios when they were part of the BBC. Because of his recreational caving experience, he was assigned to work on the documentary Sunday at Sunset Pot in 1967. The documentary detailed the attempted rescue of caver Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole. Peru was first assigned to work on the documentary as an assistant soundman. However, due to physical and technical limitations of the initial cameraman and Peru cave experience, he was asked to take over filming operations. It was Peru's first underground filming experience. After Sunday at Sunset Pot, he left his job at the BBC to move to Yorkshire, as he had decided he wanted to be a filmmaker. In Yorkshire, his first commission was for The World About Us to film The Lost River of Gaping Gill in 1970. As a cinematographer and director, Peru has participated in the creation of more than a dozen cave documentaries and more than 50 films in total. headlights. In 2010 Peru retired from acting and emigrated from the UK. Along with Lionel Friedberg, Peru won an Emmy in 1993 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Informational Programming for his work in Lechuguilla Cave which appeared as part of a 1992 National Geographic special, Mysteries Underground. While Mysteries Underground won the most prestigious prize of any project in Peru, several other documentaries won regional awards or prizes at cave-related film festivals. The documentary The Lost River of Gaping Gill won Best Television Reporting at the 7th International Speleology Film Festival in 1984, Silver Gentian Award at the Trento International Film Festival in 1985, Pye Color Television Award for Best Production regional in 1985 and shared "best history or adventure film" with Hollow Mountains of Mulu at the Festival International de Cinéma Espeleològic in 1984.[10] The series Beneath the Pennines won the Grand Prize at the International Speleology Film Festival in 1978, as well as the Regional Program of the Year award from the Royal Television Society. Peru is the author of a book about his experiences titled 30 Years as an Adventure Cameraman.[8] In 2010, Martin Baines released a documentary about life in Peru called The Sid Peru Story. Peru's first marriage was to Alison Wellock, a woman he met while planning to film The Lost River of Gaping Gill. They married on March 27, 1971 and had two children: Martin and Tom. Alison died in 1996 at age 47 following an illness.