Documentary
THE FIXERS | 2016
Co-Videographer, Co-Editor
The Fixers is a collaborative artwork that was made leading up to the 2016 Republican National Convention. In journalism, a fixer is a well-networked local who helps a foreign journalist find quick entry into a story, by introducing them to people who are in the know.
Cleveland artist Kate Sopko, with filmmakers Robert Banks, Angela Beallor, Elizabeth Press, Chelsie Corso, Tom Laffay and Paul Sobota, created a series of short films that follow Clevelanders invested in urban vitality and social equity on tours they would give RNC delegates, if given the chance.
In this video a Cleveland reproductive health advocate and a long-time midwife drew together local practitioners to examine how doula and midwife involvement is helping address Cleveland's high infant mortality rate, particularly among women of color.
This project was on display at SPACES from May 20 - July 21, 2016, along with public dialogues hosted at venues around Cleveland. The Fixers was also on display at Smack Mellon in Brooklyn, NY from June 18 - July 31, 2016. www.thefixerscleveland.com
Fracking Our Future | 2013
Co-Director, Videographer, Editor
"Fracking Our Future" gives voice to people in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio impacted by rapid expansion of the shale gas industry, highlighting effects on human health and everyday life. Realizing that scientific assessments take years to complete—time insufficient to avoid unfolding environmental disaster, geomicrobiologist Yuri Gorby returns to his childhood home to shine light on those struggling to survive amidst toxic gases and contaminated fluids within one mile of well pads, compressor stations, cryogenic separators, crystalline silica mines and transport stations. "Fracking Our Future" frames the vulnerability of citizens who are being sacrificed for profits by a globally destructive industry, in this eloquent call for action.
Only Yours - Apocalypse Five and Dime | 2011
Editor, Second camera
Music video
With roots in Brooklyn's brass scene, Apocalypse Five and Dime delivers harmonic, ukulele-laced tunes and foot-stomping numbers backed by sousaphone and marching bass drum.
Still We Ride | 2005
Co-Director, Videographer, Editor
On Friday August 27, 2004 just days before the start of the Republican National Convention, a massive police operation was underway. By the end of the night 264 people were arrested. It marked one of the largest mass arrests in New York City's history - and the arrested had done nothing illegal.
For many New Yorkers, August was the first time they heard of what has become a monthly ritual for New York City's bike community; a free-forming ride called Critical Mass.
Still We Ride is a documentary that captures the joyous atmosphere of this August ride before the arrests began and the chaos that followed. It recounts how this ride first started in San Francisco over 10 years ago and chronicles the police crackdown and resulting court battles in New York over the last twelve months. The movie takes on issues of civil liberties, surveillance, the power of mainstream media, and the benefits of alternative means of transportation.