Wildlife Filmmaker Bob Poole Set for National Geographic Live Series at Mesa Arts Center

The 2015-16 National Geographic Live Arizona Speaker Series brings award-winning natural history cinematographer Bob Poole to Mesa Arts Center on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Ikeda Theater. Join the acclaimed cinematographer and filmmaker for an unforgettable evening of images and stories about Gorongosa's majestic animals.

"Gorongosa is proof that, what we've broken, we can put back together." - Bob Poole. Tickets are available through Mesa Arts Center's Box Office, at MesaArtsCenter.com or by calling 480-644-6500.

A childhood in East Africa gave Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Bob Poole a fierce curiosity about the natural world as well as an adventurous spirit. Now, for a new, 6-part PBS/Nat Geo International series, Bob is drawing on that experience to document the rebirth of a lost Eden: Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, a jewel of Africa's parks system until civil war almost destroyed it. There, he joined forces with rangers and scientists (including his sister, renowned elephant researcher Joyce Poole), on perhaps the biggest conservation project on the planet. He'll share secrets of filming lions, crocs, elephants, and spectacular scenery, and tell how he cracked the "Gorongosa code" - learning to read the landscape and find prime locations for filming the park's spectacular wildlife.

The acclaimed cinematographer extensive credit list includes documentaries for PBS NATURE and NOVA, BBC, over 30 films for Discovery Networks, and an additional 30 plus films for National Geographic Television. Bob Poole's passion for wildlife led to his involvement as a Board Member for the Gorongosa National Park Restoration Project. Currently he is working in Africa as the Presenter and Director of Photography on a 5-part series on the restoration of Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park for PBS and National Geographic International.

Also in the National Geographic Live Arizona Speaker Series:

SPINOSAURUS: LOST GIANT OF THE CRETACEOUS

Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim

February 10, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

Ikeda Theater

In a tale for the ages, 2014 National Geographic Emerging Explorer Nizar Ibrahim finds "a needle in a desert" - the first semiaquatic dinosaur. The German/Moroccan paleontologist was obsessed with the giant predator Spinosaurus, one of the great mysteries in paleontology. Listen to Ibrahim's remarkable story and about the findings of an international team of scientists that were featured as a cover story for National Geographic magazine.

K2: DANGER AND DESIRE ON THE SAVAGE MOUNTAIN

Mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

March 2, 2016, 7:30 p.m.

Ikeda Theater

End the season with National Geographic's 2012 "Explorer of the Year," Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner. She is the first woman to achieve the extraordinary feat of scaling all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks without the use of supplementary oxygen. Once summiting all the other 8,000-meter peaks, K2 was still holding out on her. After six trying attempts and thirteen years of climbing, Kaltenbrunner finally reached K2's peak.

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