December 5, 2017

The winner of the Bert Easey Technical Award 2017 is Marc Wolff

Above photograph Marc Wolff and Phil Méheux BSC

This year’s recipient of the Bert Easey award for technical excellence is given to a man who was born in the USA and entered the U. S. Army and served a five-year tour of duty including one year conducting combat flight operations in South Vietnam as a helicopter pilot and helicopter platoon leader.

He was soon promoted to the rank of Captain, making him the youngest Captain in the US Army at the age of 21. He received an honourable discharge in 1971 having been awarded a Bronze Star for service and 22 awards of the Air Medal.

In 1972 he moved to Britain where he did further flight training and obtained an Airline Transport Pilot's license for helicopters and later a commercial balloon pilot's license.

After four years with a commercial helicopter company he started his own business, providing an aviation service to the film and TV industry which is now known as Flying Pictures.

He has worked exclusively for the motion picture industry since 1976, participating in over 170 feature films, more than 160 commercials and numerous television programs and documentaries.

He became a British Citizen in 1987.

Over the years he has accumulated Pilot’s Licenses for

BRITAIN, EUROPE, USA, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, FRANCE, ITALY, FINLAND, SWITZERLAND, THE NETHERLANDS, IRELAND, AUSTRALIA, KENYA, ALGERIA, SOUTH AFRICA, ICELAND, HONG KONG and MONACO.

Marc studied directing at The London Film School, the National Film and Television School and The London Film Academy and started directing second unit sequences on major feature films in 2005.

He is a member of the Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Guild of British Camera Technicians, The British Balloon and Airship Club, and Professional Flight Instructor Group of the US National Aero Club.

In 2012 he was awarded the  BKSTS Matthew Allwork Memorial Award for 'Services to the International Film Industry'.

In 1993, The Guardian newspaper awarded him their 'Alternative Oscar' for Best Stunt for the film Cliffhanger, where he organized, coordinated and filmed the transfer of stuntman Simon Crane from the back of a DC 9 airliner to the door of a Lockheed Jetstar business jet at 15,000 feet over the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

There can’t be many of you in the room tonight who are not conversant with the superb work of this prolific man

So, for his great work in pioneering the art of aerial cinema photography  it is with great pleasure I give The Bert Easy Technical Award to Marc Wolff!

Citation read by Phil Méheux BSC

Congratulations to Marc Wolff