After studying Zoology at University, Alastair quickly realised that he wanted to follow a career that allowed him to spend a lot of time in the field, so decided to undertake a course in filmmaking at college. Alastair’s first film was far less glamorous than wildlife filmmaking may sound, a film on head-lice, for which Alastair had to culture the lice on his own arm in order to film them. The film was a huge success and led on to the set-up of London Scientific Films and the production of further films on medical and veterinary subjects.
Alastair’s career in wildlife filmmaking took off in 1979 with the making of Life on Earth, the very first mega series for the BBC. Over his career Alastair has spent many months on location, filming in some of the wildest places on Earth, from the Amazon basin to the Congo, Borneo to Botswana.
Working for over 40 years in the scientific and wildlife filmmaking industries Alastair has been involved the production of many ground-breaking and award-winning films, including Amazon: The Flooded Forest, People of the Sea, and The Elephant, The Emperor and The Butterfly Tree.
Always enthusiastic to learn more about the natural world and convey its complexity and beauty to the public, Alastair continues to film breathtaking footage to inspire and educate.
View the oral history of Alastair MacEwen Land of Giants (1992) | Photography |
| Islands in the African Sky (1994) | Photography |
| At the Edge of the Sea (1997) | Photography |
| People of the Sea (1997) | Photography |
| The Elephant, the Emperor and the Butterfly Tree (2003) | Photography, Producer |
| The Natural World (BBC 1983 - 2012): Cuckoo (2009) | Photography |
