Sid Perou | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sidney Allen Bruce Perou 1937 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Cinematographer, Film director |
| Known for | Cave documentaries |
| Notable work | Sunday at Sunset Pot, The Lost River of Gaping Gill, Mysteries Underground |
| Spouse | Alison Wellock (m. 1971; d. 1996) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Informational Programming (1993) |
Sidney Allen Bruce Perou (born 1937[1]) is a British cinematographer and film director notable for his work in caves. He has been called "renowned throughout the caving and broadcasting world,"[2] "possibly the greatest cave film maker of all time,"[3] and "the man who brought caving to the masses."[4] His work has received international acclaim.[5]
Perou was born as Sidney Allen Bruce Perou in April 1937 to his father, Sid, and his mother, Harriet (who went by "Kit"). He was a serviceman in the Royal Air Force.[6]
In the mid 1960s, Perou worked as a sound recorder at Ealing Studios when it was owned by 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.[7] Perou was initially assigned to work on the documentary as an assistant sound recorder. However, due to the physical and technical limitations of the initial camera operator and Perou's cave experience, he was asked to take over filming operations.[6] This was Perou's first experience filming underground.[7] After Sunday at Sunset Pot, he left his job at the BBC to move to Yorkshire, as he had decided that he wanted to be a filmmaker.[8][6] In Yorkshire, his first commission was for The World About Us to film The Lost River of Gaping Gill in 1970.[6]
As a cinematographer and director, Perou was involved in the creation of over a dozen cave documentaries,[1] and over 50 films in total.[8] He was considered especially talented at lighting the caves so that it appeared as though the only sources of illumination were the cavers' headlamps.[1]
In 2010, Perou retired from filmmaking and emigrated from the United Kingdom.[4]
Together with Lionel Friedberg, Perou 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.[1][5][9] While Mysteries Underground won the most prestigious award of any of Perou's projects, several other documentaries won regional awards or prizes at cave-related film festivals. The documentary The Lost River of Gaping Gill won Best TV Reportage prize at the 7th Festival International du Film de Spéléologie in 1984, Silver Gentian Prize at the 1985 International Film Festival in Trento, the Pye Colour Television Award for Best Regional Production in 1985, and shared "best story or adventure film" with Hollow Mountains of Mulu at the International Festival Internacional de Cinema Espeleològic in 1984.[10] The series Beneath the Pennines won the Grand Prix at the International Caving Film Festival in 1978,[11] as well as the Royal Television Society's Regional Programme of the Year Award.[12]
In 1999, Perou won the Giles Barker award.[2]
Perou authored a book on his experiences titled 30 Years as an Adventure Cameraman.[8] In 2010, Martin Baines released a documentary on Perou's life titled The Sid Perou Story.[4]
Perou's first marriage was to Alison Wellock,[13] a woman whom he met during the planning of the filming of The Lost River of Gaping Gill. They married on 27 March 1971 and had two children: Martin and Tom. Alison died in 1996 at age 47 after an illness.[6]
Perou worked on many films related to outdoor activities such as caving, rock climbing, hot air ballooning, and hang gliding.[8]