David Brill is one of Australia's finest news cinematographers. For 40 years he has travelled the world covering wars and disasters from the fall of Saigon to the conflict in the Middle East, from the war on drugs to the war on terror.

This year his work has taken him to southern Lebanon, uncovering the damage done by cluster bombs (Ban The Bomblets), and to Portugal which is investing heavily in renewable energies (Portuguese Power).

David was born in Tasmania. From 1964-66 he studied photography and cinematography at a commercial studio in Hobart before landing a job as a trainee cameraman at the ABC's bureau there. In 1967 he filmed the Black Tuesday bushfires ravaging the island and his footage was screened around the world, partly responsible for the amount of aid that flooded in.

In 1970 and 71 David travelled to Vietnam to film the conflict, winning a Thorn-EMI Award for his footage. It was in Vietnam that he realised the devastation that war brings, seen through the empty eyes of young girl who'd lost a limb. Since then, David has focussed on the human consequences of conflict whether in Cambodia, El Salvador, Somalia, Serbia or any other hot-spot he's reported from.

David finds filming a very personal experience, particularly when using the small cameras that Dateline's video journalists use. He says he feels guilty when capturing the pain in the faces of innocent people - because he knows that sooner or later, he'll simply walk out of their lives.

David has worked for a host of current affairs programs, coming to Dateline in 2003. While working for Dateline he's won United Nations Media Peace awards for his stories Good Morning Vietnam and Chad - Crisis In The Desert. In addition to filming and reporting Dateline stories, David films George Negus when he's on location and trains SBS Television's young video journalists and cadets.

David's courage and audacity when filming is legendary. He says he's not a war junkie, but he does see value in explaining the magnitude of war to an Australian audience. He believes Australia is indeed a lucky country to have two public broadcasters dedicated to long-form current affairs.

The story of David's life can be found in John Little's biography entitled The Man Who Saw Too Much.

For further information please contact SBS publicist Christine Heard on 02 9430 3794 or christine.heard@sbs.com.au