John Driftmier (November 24, 1982 – February 24, 2013) was a Canadian documentary director. His works included '' Dangerous Flights'', ''Licence to Drill'', and '' Ice Pilots NWT''.

Early life

Driftmier was born in 1982 in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

to parents David Driftmier and Sophia Lang.Renzetti, Elizabeth (March 19, 2013). "He was hungry for adventure: Calgarian tracked Arctic oil drillers, Atlantic salvage ships and, ironically, risk-taking pilots", ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', p. S6. He graduated from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

in 2007. While studying film at SFU, Driftmier produced and directed the film ''The Story of a Lifetime,'' both a tribute to and using footage shot by his grandfather, Frederick, who as a teacher in 1941 had shot amateur films in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

. Driftmier married Carolyn Allen in 2010. They lived in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Career

Driftmier worked in more than 30 countries. He shot a company of northern Canadian pilots in the television series '' Ice Pilots NWT''. In ''

Highway Thru Hell ''Highway Thru Hell'' is a Canadian documentary television series that follows the operations of Jamie Davis Motor Truck & Auto Ltd., a heavy vehicle rescue and recovery towing company based in Hope, British Columbia. Quiring Towing, Aggressiv ...

'', he documented the stories of a towing company involved in salvage operations in the British Columbia interior in extreme weather conditions. He co-created ''Pyros'', a TV documentary series looking at people who create firework displays. In 2013, while in Africa to film an episode of ''Dangerous Flights'', documenting the experiences around the world of pilots delivering used commuter airplanes, Driftmier was killed at age 30 in a plane crash in Mount Kenya Forest. The documentary series '' Cold Water Cowboys'', which Driftmier co-conceived with Tyson Hepburn, debuted in February 2014.Lederman, Marsha (February 24, 2014). "'The most dangerous profession in the world': The new series Cold Water Cowboys, which follows Newfoundland fishermen into treacherous waters, has a tragic backstory", ''

'', p. L3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driftmier, John 1982 births 2013 deaths Canadian documentary film directors Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Kenya Simon Fraser University alumni Film directors from Calgary Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2013