Chris Flaherty

Chris Flaherty was born and grew up in Washington D.C. Since he acquired a super 8 mm movie camera at the age of 10 he has been learning to define his view of the World on film. Besides making films he has also explored sketching, oil painting and writing. After finishing high school in 1980 he joined the U.S Navy and served on a nuclear aircraft carrier. During his tour of duty he used super 8 mm and 16 mm movie cameras to keep in “touch” with his artistic inclination to understand the world around him. Years later, with the advent of low cost video editing software he was finally able to pursue his dream of making a full length documentary feature film. Chris’s approach to documentaries is to find stories that have global significance yet are not adequately covered in the main stream media. He believes film can be a powerful medium to create awareness of human suffering and also carries the ability to spur people into taking action against those conditions. For him, documentary filmmaking serves a purpose and it should be utilized with a sense of social conscious and an idea for the improvement of the human condition. Migration of Beauty is his first serious attempt at making a major documentary. The film was accepted into 19 major international film festivals including the Pan African and African Diaspora film festivals. It was also broadcast nationwide on the Africa Channel and ESAT TV. He spent two years researching and winning the trust of the witness’s involved in the historic event covered in the film. He also has worked on other film projects involving the pursuit human rights and democracy in Africa and North Korea. Other passions he has are, pursing his “appreciation for diversity” philosophy, learning languages and spending time with his family. He lives in Rockville Maryland with his wife, daughter books and U2 CD’s.