Long Story Short - Latest Updates

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation wins a Webby and a People's Choice Webby Award!

Jessica — Tue, 03 May 2011 14:32:00 EST

http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?media_id=97&season=15#film_pub_serv

http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11986:nonprofits-collect-awards-in-2011-webbys&catid=155:nonprofit-newswire&Itemid=986

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation Video Nominated for a Webby!

Jessica — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:16:00 EST

The Time to Eliminate Pediatric AIDS is Now from EGPAF on Vimeo.

Please vote for People's Choice : www.webbyawards.com

Online Film and Video, Public Service and Activism

"The Time to Eliminate Pediatric Aids is Now"

http://webby.aol.com/entries/61108

National Cherry Blossom Festival 2011

Jessica — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:37:00 EST

Official Production Team for the 2011 National Cherry Blossom Festival!

Global Network blog from Brazil

Jessica — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:39:00 EST

http://endtheneglect.org/2011/03/new-ntd-treatment-program-launches-with-some-help-from-miss-brazil/#more-5078

David Lynch Foundation and our work in the New York Times

Jessica — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:32:00 EST

The December Lynch event was featured in the March 18th NYT's

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/fashion/20TM.html

Recife, Brazil day 1- rollerskates and helmets

Jessica — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:21:00 EST

Rollerskates and Helmets

People always ask me what it’s like to travel on these kinds of Adventures… so here’s an account of the last 24 hours. These are the "just settling in hours" that lead up to shoots-

Traveling was odd. My DC flight was delayed, and when I arrived in Miami they wouldn't let me on the plane b/c it was "oversold and overweight". Not American Airlines finest hour. It turns out they miscounted or mis -weighed or something because when they finally let me ON the plane, it was half empty.

So I had a lovely exit row to myself. The couple next to me was an amazing American duo- married for 32 years. The husband was in the foreign service and his adult children now live in Dubai, London, St. Louis, and Brazil. He retired a few years ago and he and his wife live in Maine, but travel as much as they can. At 76, he’s even taken on a new career….as a documentary maker. He told me I better watch out, b/c he’s headed for an Oscar. He had just returned from Mongolia after filming for several weeks. He had a content, satisfied sense about him and I took it in. They are on the same return flight, so we’ll share adventures.

I was greeted at the Recife Airport this morning by a gaggle of young people- Ayert, Natalia, and Antonio. These 3, along with Marco, our silent driver will be my constant companions during this trip. Ayert is officially my “assistant producer”. He is earnest and t carries my bags everywhere I go. He is already making sure my purse is zipped up, which is a sign of a good person for me. Natalia is Ayert’s sister. She is a gorgeous and chatty Brazilian with a LOVE for Football and journalism. Even though she doesn’t speak English, I seem to understand her portugese. I’ve already learned, without her telling me in English, that her father passed away but taught her Spanish, her favorite football team is Santa Cruz, even though they suck, and she wants to be a broadcaster. Antonio is my translator for the day.Antonio has a love for anime and Greek Mythology. Yes, I’ve learned all of this in less than 6 hours.

I arrived in Recife to learn that my luggage is somewhere between Washington, DC and Brazil- but it’s NOT in Recife. I have a meeting in the morning with the health ministry, which means I had to go buy something. So, Ayert, Natalia, Antonio and I headed to the mall. There, they proceeded to accompany me and pick out a variety of very interesting outfits including tube tops and platform shoes. Natalia even accompanied me to the dressing room. I am going to be dressed like the whitest Brazilian you have ever seen tomorrow.

I enjoyed a mediocre lunch in the hotel while over looking one of Brazil's most famous beaches, Boa Viagem, most knows for the significant amount of shark attacks. The water is stunning, and despite the shark attack warnings, people are swimming and jumping in the waves. Lots and lots and too many lots of men in teeny tiny swimsuits.

Other things I’ve learned since 9am this morning

1. Cappuccino’s here have chocolate and cinnamon in them. Heaven

2. Cleaning employees often have rollerskates and helmets on. I saw it! I swear

All of that said, I am already in love with Brazil.... the people are so incredibly nice and the energy is warm and festive. It's the kind of place you can hear music 24 hours a day and people seem to go with the flow.

This was technically a “down” day- but as usual- filled with emails, conference calls, documents, finding phones that work, checking in, dealing with language barriers ,and always the little things that pop up inevitably when working on a project like this.

Tomorrow the real work begins. I’m here to capture stories about some of the world’s Neglected Tropical Diseases. These diseases are cruel…incredibly cruel. They rip away the chance for people to reach their potential. These diseases with horrible names like dracunculiasis, leprosy, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis keep you alive- but make an already difficult existence impossible to overcome. 1.2 billion people suffer from them around the world. Some experts say these diseases are the reason the “bottom billion” (ie the world’s most poor) cannot overcome their impoverished lives.

By the way- they are treatable and preventable. And that’s why we are here. END the neglect.

http://www.sabin.org/global-network

EEI - Edison Electric Institute Event

Jessica — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:42:00 EST

The future of Electricity is now.

The team at Futureview: Dave Hanrahan, myself, Ted Jones, Jeff Stein, Carolyn Hanrahan, Lois Lipman and Patrick Wilson came together to create the opening video for the Edison Electric Institute event.

www.eei.org

Everglades Foundation Gala 2011

Jessica — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 23:20:00 EST

Produced for Futureview/The Everglades Foundation

Camera: Ted Jones

Writer/producer: Jessica Stuart

Editor: Jeff Stein

WINTER 2011

Jessica — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:11:00 EST

The 4th Campus Challenge is ON(E)! from ONE Campaign on Vimeo.

Winter 2011 is kicking off, despite the gray days and snowy weather.

We are fortunate enough to work with the Everglades Foundation again to create a video for their 2011 gala. No sneak peeks until February 18th!

We also just finished working with Kimberly Cadena at ONE to create a video for their ONE Campus Challenge. Check it out!

WWW.ONE.ORG/CAMPUS

And, we're off an running on a series of Educational Videos for The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ted Jones and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Detroit and Houston. We arrived in Houston hoping for a respite from the cold, but it was colder there than anywhere else! Videos to come in the next month or so.

Meanwhile, we are hunting down office space officially and looking forward to a very busy 2011!!

Long Story Short..thank you for a remarkable year.

Jessica — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 21:21:00 EST

Friends, Family, Colleagues, and Clients,

Long Story Short…I’d like to wish you all a Happiest Holiday Season. As we look back at 2010, we have so much to be grateful for.

January introduced us to The Everglades Foundation, thanks to my family at Futureview and Chris Wayne and Associates. The Everglades Foundation brought a newfound respect to South Florida and the delicate Everglades Ecosystem. I spent countless hours driving from East to West, North to South in Florida, capturing stories and scenic footage with Ted Jones and Justin Van Prooyen. It takes a special connection to spend countless hours in a car over a period of days. If you need to know where to find a Starbucks, a Hampton Inn, or Cuban coffee anywhere in South Florida, just give us a call. And thank you Richard Akerson for a million reasons and editing more than a dozen wonderful pieces.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation ID video was one of the first videos we finished this year and the first of a few collaborations. It was such a joy to tell the Foundation's story and spend time with the phenomenal people that work there today. I look forward to witnessing the end of mother to infant transmission of HIV thanks to the work they do.

A surprise phone call from an old colleague and new mom Meighan Stone took my colleagues, Keith Walker Laura Mantel and I to Ghana and South Africa for 1GOAL and the Campaign for Education.

We were fortunate enough to return to South Africa for the World Cup. Thanks to the entire 1Goal Team for believing in what we could do. We had many adventures with High Five Guys, Karen, Jack, Will, Coventry, Brie and a host of Brits at the U.S./England game. I now know that a “tie” is a “draw” and it will make many an England fan angry. And fortunately, my cameraman/editor, Ted Jones, got back mostly in one piece.

This summer, I hired my first assistant, Rachel. Fresh out of college, she keeps my life sane and organized.

August brought us back to my Harpo family. Working on the final season of the show has been a real joy and a remarkable reminder of the show’s incredible integrity and grit.

Fall brought more train rides between New York and DC than I thought I’d make in a life time. We headed up to film for the AMAZING women of the White Ribbon Alliance and for The Economist and Poptech.

Minassian Media and Chris Wayne and Associates asked us to help for the Jon Stewart Comedy Central Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. AMAZING opportunity and a wonderful wonderful team to work with.

Just the other day, I got an email from my friend Jay Blackman to inform me I was nominated for an Emmy while working with the Special Events Unit at NBC. Who knew? Thank you to my NBC friends for always being so good to me. Long Story Short… also earned 1silver and 2 bronze Telly Awards, a gold and silver Davey Award, an AEGIS Award, and a platinum Marcomm Award.

The Lab School of Washington opened their doors to our cameras again this year for their annual gala. It’s eternally inspiring to walk in those doors and see the brilliant minds- both the staff and the students- at work. Heading to schools in Pittsburgh to film for the Gates Foundation was a reminder how hard teachers work every single day and what an important story theirs is to tell.

I wrap up the work year with one of the most exciting jobs of my career. I had the extreme honor of visualizing, producing and writing an event at The Metropolitan Museum of Art for The David Lynch Foundation. Hosted by Russell Brand, the David Lynch Foundation brought 800 people into the world of Transcendental Meditation and the good it does for so many people suffering from extreme stress. David and Emily Lynch, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Candy Crowley, Donna Karan, and a host of amazing people…. from homeless men of the Doe Fund to World War 2 vets, worked with us to create a remarkable evening at the Met. Although the night was so remarkable, the real magic for me was getting to know the amazing, fantastic, sparkling, kind people at The Foundation.

For all of the people that came into my life this year, I jut want to take time to express my sincere gratitude for the work, the adventures, the laughter, the near heart attacks, and everything that comes with what we do.

I’m blessed every single day to be surrounded by people that help me do what I do and the expanded family now have. A special thank you to Laura Mantel for our countless hours at “World HQ” and her wonderful attention to detail. Thanks for the endless pots of coffee and Starbucks runs. Thanks to my work families for the reminder that work can be full of laughter and friendship.

It’s an awesome responsibility to bring someone’s story to life, and we take that to heart. Thank you to all of our clients who put their trust in our work

To the host of amazing people I’ve had the privilege of working with this year… Long Story Short… Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Happy New Year. Let’s do it again next year.

CHANGE BEGINS WITHIN - David Lynch Foundation event at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jessica — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:39:00 EST

Hosted by Russell Brand, Katy Perry, Mehmet Oz, Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Donna Karan, a host of others including David Lynch himself.

I was a producer for the event- overseeing the look, video, stage movements, script, and overall concept of the program. It was an amazing experience!

RACHEL!!

Jessica — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:39:00 EST

Long overdue...

Rachel Thomas is now with Long Story Short...Jessica Stuart Media Inc. In fact, she's been with us since May. Rachel acts as my assistant, production assistant, and overall everything from grip to transcriber. She can take anything we throw her way and I'm so grateful to have her on board.

Rachel graduated from my alma mater, Penn State University, May 2010 in Media Studies.

Yay!

NOVEMBER

Jessica — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 22:18:00 EST

November has been an incredibly exciting month for us!

After working with Minassian Media, Chris Wayne and Associates, and Comedy Central on the Rally To Restore Sanity and/or Fear, we went straight to shooting and editing our second video for The Lab School of Washington. It's always a real joy to work with the students and staff for such a wonderful event. The Gala took Place November 17th. Thanks to Mark Chamberlin and Todd Wood for working so hard on the project!

http://washingtonscene.thehill.com/party-events-pictures/archive/7117-the-lab-schools-26th-annual-gala

Additionally, we headed to New York to manage content and press outreach for The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation Annual Kids4Kids Carnival. Thanks to Mark Chamberlin, Ted Jones, Morgana Wingard, Jenny Kim, Alison Putala, and Teddy Wilson for being such a great team!

http://celebritybabies.people.com/2010/11/09/spotted-mariska-hargitay-and-august-get-glittery/

I also worked with my Futureview family to create 2 videos for Linder and Associates and The Mars Candy Corporation.

Just the other day, I got an email from my friend Jay Blackman. to inform me I was nominated for an Emmy while working with the Special Events Unit at NBC. Who knew?! Thank you to my NBC friends for always being so good to me.

And of course, we are still working with Harpo as they get ready for their special shows from Australia!

As we head to Thanksgiving, there is so to be Thankful for. Great colleagues, fascinating projects, and constant learning. Also looking forward to a little rest on Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving- December promises some of the most exciting adventures of all

Jessica

2 More Awards!

Jessica — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 14:10:00 EST

Long Story Short won 2 Davey awards for 2010.

*Silver Award for Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation ID Video

*Gold Davey Award for The Lab School (that makes 3 awards for the Lab School Video this year!)

Both Videos can be seen on my work samples page!! Thanks to the amazing teams involved for both projects!

The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear 2010

Jessica — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 22:19:00 EST

WIE Symposium

Jessica — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:31:00 EST

Long Story Short... had the honor of producing interviews and sizzle for the first annual WIE Symposium. Video to come!!!

Read Marie Claire's report on the amazing day: http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/opinion/wie-symposium-event-recap

Website:

http://www.whiteribbonalliance.org/wie/

The Economist: Ideas Economy,

Jessica — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:35:00 EST

John Maeda from PopTech on Vimeo.

John Maeda, President of RISD: http://vimeo.com17095912

Steven Pinker, Harvard University: http://www.vimeo.com/16470506

John Sexton, President of NYU: http://www.vimeo.com/16470690

Amy Kaslow: http://www.vimeo.com/16470418

Jeremy Heimans: http://www.vimeo.com/16470332

Clay Shirky: http://www.vimeo.com/16470751

Sohrab Vissoughi: http://www.vimeo.com/16470887

Avivah Whittenberg Cox: http://www.vimeo.com/16471045

Sir Ken Robinson: http://www.vimeo.com/16470604

Shirley Tighlman: http://www.vimeo.com/16470549

www.ideas.economist.com

I'm excited to work with Chris Wayne and Associates and Futureview to produce content for The Economist "Ideas Economy". It's a fabulous group to work with.

Look for more projects in the coming months!!!! Next one will be from the PopTech conference in Camden, Maine Oct 20-22!

Oprah's Final Season- Beginning of the End underway

Jessica — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:46:00 EST

Please watch the promo my friends/co-workers created for Oprah's final season. Proud to still be a small part of the team.

Stephen's story reaches Time.com 's Glen Levy

Jessica — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:04:00 EST

Time.com's Glen Levy interviews 1GOAL ambassador and rising soccer star Stephen!

http://specials.blogs.time.com/2010/07/01/90-seconds-with-rising-ghana-star-stephen-odai/

High Five World Cup

Jessica — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:09:00 EST

Please watch my new friends, Almost Twins, with their latest, High Five World Cup. Meighan Stone brought them to South Africa on behalf of 1GOAL. HYSTERICAL

ABC Good Morning America's Robin Roberts and 1GOAL

Jessica — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:41:00 EST

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/south-africa-transformed-10908570

ABC utilizes footage we shot (Keith Walker and Ted Jones) along with her own visit to a Soweto School to create a 4.5 minute piece. Great use of internal content meshing with network content to create a longer form, filled out piece.

4 AWARDS and 2 Nominations!

Jessica — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:45:00 EST

The Lab School Video has won an AEGIS Award for Film and Video and a Silver Telly

The Everglades Foundation Gala Video and "Jessica's Diary" have won bronze Tellys

Not bad for the company's first award season!!!

And Home Front Communications Received 2 Webby nominations for the Living Proof Project,

World Cup 2010

Jessica — Mon, 31 May 2010 18:17:00 EST

We traveled to Johannesburg, South Africa for the first ever World Cup on African soil. Long Story Short... we managed and produced content and events for 1GOAL, including celebrity events with K'Naan, Shakira, and soccer legends Socrates, Andrew Cole, and Quinton Fortune.

Additionally, our team handled filming and still photography for 1GOAL which was utilized by media outlets across the world including ABC, ESPN, CNN, BBC, and CNNi. Not to mention, we created some of our own content (see work samples section of this website)

This trip was the perfect blending of content creation and television outreach!

We are grateful to Meighan Stone, Sam Barratt, and the rest of the fantastic 1GOAL team for the opportunity!

Stephen's story

Jessica — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:32:00 EST

We met a boy named Stephen Odai on our trip to Ghana in March for 1GOAL/One. He touched all of us and we realized he encompassed what 1GOAL's message is.

The piece we produced about Stephen has now been seen all over the world. Just yesterday it aired in Stephen's home country- and this was the email I received from him. It reminds me why I do my job...

hi Jessica

my greetings to you all and how is your family doing i hope their doings well as you are and your team too.Jessica i am very happy for everything you are doing for me.it is a great honor for me to day that people saw me on TV and people are calling me to tell me that Stephen we saw you on TV it very great to here that and i am very happy here to day.Jessica i thank you deeply from my heart for the effort you are putting my life.the bible said many are called but few are chosen and i am happy that i am among the few that are called.unfortunately i was not able to watch it on TV but my friends called me and told me that they saw me.please if there is any way you help me to watch it i am begging you that i just want to watch please or if you can send copy of that i will be great full.
may the lord bless you and your family and grant you more life and keep you under his wings and to protect you from any bad things AMEN.
Your son
Stephen

Everglades Foundation Summit, Washington DC

Jessica — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:39:00 EST

Videos and photos coming soon!

Thanks to David Hanrahan at Futureview, I had the opportunity to head back to the Everglades to shoot for the Eveglades Foundation Summit in Washington DC. We shot with the Canon 7D SLR.

Along with a multi-media roundtable hosted by Tom Brokaw, the evening ended with a gala at Eastern Market. Our images were projected as a backdrop for Blues Traveler on stage. Very cool.

Bono receives the Atlantic Council Humanitarian award

Jessica — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:44:00 EST

Jessica Stuart Media Inc had the honor of creating the video honoring Bono for the 2010 Atlantic Council Dinner. John McCain introduced Bono.

Please check out ONE's new initiative at:

http://www.one.org/us/security/index.html

For a transcript of Bono's speech, check it out:

http://www.acus.org/event/2010-awards-dinner/bono-transcript

1GOAL Trip to Ghana and South Africa, March 2010

Jessica — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:25:00 EST

We traveled to Africa to produce an event as well as document Jessica Alba's trip to Ghana with Bono and ONE and South Africa to visit the sites of the 2010 World Cup.

Read Jessica Alba's blog on her trip to Ghana, Senegal, and South Africa

http://www.one.org/blog/2010/03/22/jessica-alba-on-education-for-all/

Jessica Alba (and the footage we shot) appeared on MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36690896#36690896

And On Cnn!

- http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/04/21/1.goal.jessica.alba.cnn

Foreign Policy Magazine Article- Revolution in a Box

Jessica — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:32:00 EST

I often bring this article up to clients, so I figure I would post the link to a very very good read by Charles Kenny:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/19/revolution_in_a_box?page=full

"In the not-too-distant future, it is quite possible that the world will be watching 24 billion hours of TV a day -- an average of close to four hours for each person in the world. Some of those hours could surely be better spent -- planting trees, helping old ladies cross the road, or playing cricket, perhaps. But watching TV exposes people to new ideas and different people. With that will come greater opportunity, growing equality, a better understanding of the world, and a new appreciation of the complexities of life"

Cyber Shockwave

Jessica — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:10:00 EST

Thanks to Chris Wayne and Associates, Futureview, Bipartisan Policy Commission, SAFE and Minassian Media for bringing me on to help with Production and Press!

Read about the event!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/16/AR2010021605762.html

Everglades Foundation ID Video

Jessica — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:02:00 EST

Thanks to David Hanrahan and the great team at Futureview, I am working on a video for The Everglades Foundation. Ted, my cameraman, and I had the pleasure of exploring the Everglades from South to North during a whirlwind shooting weekend. The video will be shown at The Everglades Foundation gala. The video is opening for Sting! Never thought I would be opening for Sting! Will post the video and some stills soon.

Some thoughts I recorded on the trip:

Started in DC at 4:15am – drive/flight/rental car/getting lost/ but ready to shoot in in the Everglades 1pm

My cameraman Ted is a sweet guy from South Dakota. He’s not old enough to drive the rental car. Enough said. I’m doing my least favorite thing in the world- using a one man band- but he’s enthusiastic and we are having a good time.

We met up with Ranger Rachel- and she took us through a section of the park today. Ranger Rachel comes from Alaska- she’s a seasonal employee and travels between National Parks- Florida in the Winter and Denali National Park during the summer. She has the patience of a saint as tourist after tourist asks her the exact same question… “Why are the fish dead?. You see, there was a cold spurt a few weeks back- so cold, in fact, it killed off all non-native fish species. There are some exotic creatures that found their way into the ecosystem and frankly- wreaked havoc. It’s amazing how mother nature takes care of itself. Fish and pythons causing major trouble did not survive the cold blast. Lizards and other cold blooded creatures just froze in a strange tableau. Rachel told us that the lizards would fall out of trees, but as they warmed up, would scurry off.

The best part- I took a few moments to realize how lucky I am to have a job that forces me every so often to stop for a moment, listen to nature, look at the sky and feel the breeze. We saw Egrets and Vultures and alligators and spoonbills and other birds I don’t know the names.

It was also my job to make sure we shot the sunrise over Florida Bay. Now, if it wasn’t my job, I would have stayed asleep in my hotel, or tent, or wherever it may be… but instead, I sat and witnessed the sunrise. A sweet, quiet, warm sunrise. i asked myself why I don't do something as simple as this more often, but remembered I'm a mom, wife, and business lady working my butt off...sometimes sleep is more important. But I made sure to take a deep breath and be in the moment- appreciate, listen, enjoy.

Later in the morning we met up with Captain Randy- our airboat captain and driver for the day. His business card says he’s “airboat captain, alligator wrestler, and tour guide”. He’s an Everglades native and looks exactly like you would picture. The airboat ride was quite a blast- although not the most effective mode of transportation for filming. The sound scares all of the creatures away!

Our trip to The Everglades was too short- we hope to get back sooner rather than later- but the most important part is that our short video helps to do justice to all of the great work being done to save the only ecosystem of its kind on Earth.

Interview with Elizabeth Gilbert during her "Committed" book tour

Jessica — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:55:00 EST

I had the exciting opportunity to interview one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Gilbert while she was on her book tour for her latest book, "Committed".

Jessica on NPR!

Jessica — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121620492

Economist's World In 2010- Washington, DC

Jessica — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST

Worked with Minassian Media, Chris Wayne and Associates, and Futureview on The Economist Magazine's Inaugural "World In 2010" event. The Daily Show's John Oliver opened the evening. Speakers ranged from Stacy London (my gal), Jose Andres, Michelle Rhee, to the NFL's Chris Parsons. Amazing event!

Lab School of Washington

Jessica — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:55:00 EST

I had the honor of creating a video for the Lab School of Washington's 25th anniversary. USA Today ran this article about the Gala.

Vice President Biden was the keynote.

http://www.labschool.org/

Film Crew at the Lab School

George Stephanopoulous and Ali Wentworth host

Vice President Joe Biden

Buttonwood 2009 Highlights

Jessica — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:06:00 EST

http://buttonwood.economist.com/

Booking and helping to keep the event organized!

PREPS

FANTASTIC team on the NYSE floor

Maternal Newborn Child Health Stories

Jessica — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:48:00 EST

I returned to Ethiopia at the End of August to film Maternal Newborn Child Health Stories with supermodel Liya Kebede.

I think the piece we did speaks for itself.

I am eternally grateful to our incredible guide, Brian Mulligan of Save The Children

Cote D'Ivoire

Jessica — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:40:00 EST

We left Ghana early in the morning and flew Air Burkina- who knew there was an Air Burkina? When we landed, Olivier informed me the plane was built in 1987. I also learned the capitol of Burkina Faso is Ougadogoo. (it’s fun to say)

We ran into our first airport dilemma at customs. They took Keith and his equipment into a room for a very long time. There was paperwork and translation issues. We lost one piece of luggage- a tripod.

Once we cleared (miraculously without paying any “fees”) we met Bob Yule, my DC neighbor and EGPAF communications guy. It is his first trip to Cote D’Ivoire- only Kenny has been here before… so we were all going to see it with Fresh eyes. Bob is a delight- charming and warm. He has worked so hard for us and we wanted to make the story work. Gilberte, our in country contact and a complete rockstar met us too. She had been up all night. Everyone was invested in Kevin.

Bob Yule of The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation in Cote D'Ivoire

We also met our security in Cote D’Ivoire. Marcel is like the Ivoirian version of the hulk. Serious, solid as a rock, and carrying a man purse that had a gun in it. He had a driver and another police officer with him in a van for our gear. The “van” actually looks like an ice cream truck. Please picture this…. An ice cream truck with three of the biggest baddest men in Cote D’Ivoire sitting in a row in the front seat. I watched them from the back of our jeep- their mean heads bobbing together as we rumbled down the roads. I love them. We needed them….

I was like a bat out of hell in Abidjan. I had no money and couldn’t get access to any cash. Note: Cote D’Ivoire does not take credit cards nor travelers checks. They don’t want your American Dollars either. It was raining, dreary, and we didn’t know how Kevin and his Fiance were doing. And I was looking for a freaking bank.

I went to four banks looking for cash. I was mad. I sent scathing emails to Dan and Meagan (sorry about that). We didn’t know if Kevin was okay. We didn’t know if his Fiance was okay. We didn’t know what to do.

We went to EGPAF headquarters where we met Joseph, the country director. We decided to have a conference call with the nuns to decide whether to go to Dimbokro and see Kevin. Everyone was heartbroken in the office. We met Dr. Diby here as well- the man who first told Kevin’s story.

The conference call was conducted completely in French. Gilberte translated for us, but I didn’t need a translator. Watching Joseph express his grief transcended language. I tried to hold it together- but I couldn’t. Everyone was invested in Kevin. Everyone loves Kevin. Everyone was hurting for Kevin.

Life has a different price in Africa. I’ve said this many times. But this team was invested in Kevin’s life. He and his father are their story. He’ and his father are the heart and soul and the reason why they do their jobs. Kevin’s babies were their babies. They had done everything they possibly could . They said access to an incubator may have saved the second baby’s life.

Sister Pauline, the nun that runs the clinic where Kevin works, said Kevin wanted us to come. She told us Kevin knew we had come a long way to tell his story and he wanted to continue on. Kevin was certain we should do the story. We didn’t know what was going to happen.

Our Nun

The drive to Dimbokro was arduous. It was pouring. We stopped at a gas station and saw a mob beat a boy almost to death (maybe to death- we didn’t stick around to find out). Apparently he had stolen something.

There were checkpoints all along the road. Lots of guns. But- we had an ice cream truck full of cops at the back of our little convoy. I then learned that Marcel is the most popular cop in town. Once the guys saw Marcel with us, we were ushered straight through. No bribes. No guns. No worries.

I should mention here that each driver has had a soundtrack for us . In Ethiopia, Misgana had music from Mali. Here in Cote D’Ivoire, our driver had a tape- reggae. However the reggae music had a guy talking over it in French. The host was translating the English to French so the Ivoirians could understand the words to the song. It was interesting.

Half way through our drive, the rain stopped. The “highway” was a two lane road- potholes, trucks, and people everywhere. Reggae playing, we trucked along and the drive became very meditative. Cote D’Ivoire is tropical- green- lush- enormous ant hills- trees canopying over the road- small enclaves of people selling wood, rats, lizards, tissues, and yams.

Our first stop in Dimbokro was the clinic. We had decided to gather there and speak to the nuns without cameras. We needed an update. We needed to figure out if we should continue. It was getting dark when we arrived.

Kevin was there to greet us. His father was there to greet us. We didn’t expect this.

Kevin and his father are both incredibly handsome and distinguished. Kevin’s smile is contagious. He was smiling- happy to see us.

We didn’t expect this.

First things first, we had to sit for the traditional tribal greeting. The brought out chairs and cokes and lemonade and we sat in a circle in the middle of the clinic courtyard. In the tribal tradition, we were to first ask the news of the village. Then they would ask us the news of our travels. The translation was difficult, but we managed on. It got dark and the mosquitoes came out as Kevin and his father told us they wanted to tell their story. They were honored we had come such a long way to meet them. They would carry on to share their story. We were going to go on as planned. Kevin’s fiancé was still in the hospital, but was improving. The babies had been buried quickly. We were moving on.

Gilberte told me that evening that in Ivoirian culture, you do not cry when your first born dies. You do not have a proper funeral when your first born dies. She didn’t know why.

We left the clinic- moving on- and we checked into our hotel, “Le Petrollier” or “The Oil Tanker”. The best hotel in all of Dimbokro- $50 bucks a night. How do I describe it?? sh++hole. Surprised?

We ordered dinner to be delivered to the hotel for us from the other hotel in town- owned by the same man. Chicken and rice.

We went to the bar and had drinks. It had been a long day. It was hot. We were drenched. Our drinks were good. I put ice in mine.

The same woman was our check in lady, waitress, room service, bartender, and breakfast server. I felt awful for her. She was confused by the whirlwind of a big group. I don’t think the Oil Tanker hotel sells out very often.

Chicken and rice. I tasted the chicken and only ate the rice.

Kenny and I realized that we had been on the same shoot- just different legs of it in 2006. The world is small. Kenny tells the most magnificent stories. He’s been everywhere, seen everything, and has a fantastic sense of humor about it all. His latest story (after telling us his first hand experiences- Tienamen square, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan) was about how he was held hostage in a hotel by a drunk crazy man in 1975. I love him.

By now, Olivier is quite comfortable with all of us- ie we are teasing each other constantly. It keeps the mood light. Olivier is quite magic- a little jaded (or a lot, depending how many drinks he’s had) and very very funny. We are so lucky to find this French Canadian African photographer. He’s the perfect fourth person. I pray this is the first of many times we are a team. It works. It really works.

Olivier and I realized we’ve met before. He yelled at me in a market in Ghana during the Bono trip in 2006. He was with AP and the team had switched the schedule. They had no access to Bono and were completely outraged. I remember Olivier now- he had sunglasses on that day. The world is small.

In the morning, we went to the clinic. Kevin came to work and we proceeded to film. We followed him as he tested 4 people for HIV and gave them counseling. 3 were negative. The fourth was positive- she was 6 months pregnant. It rained very hard.

The nuns made lunch. Chicken and rice.

We shot b-roll of Kevin sitting with his adopted nun mom’s – Sister Pauline and Sister Felicity. They were laughing their heads off at something Sister Felicity was saying. Olivier looked over at me with a rather horrified look on his face. She was telling dirty jokes.

I love these nuns.

We returned to the Hotel for dinner. Chicken and Rice.

I learned a new term- bicycle chicken. It’s when a chicken is so lean there is no meat- just skin. I ate rice. And bread. And a jack and coke. Keith brought down his ipod and Bob was searching for good music . He found Keith’s favorite itunes mix- freak mix 1. Secret Lover was the first song on the track, Tenderoni by Bobby Brown was the second.

Keith didn’t let us get past there.

In the morning we headed to the Kevin’s father’s village. It’s the most remote I’ve ever been, I think. No electricity- no running water- the road to the village is muddy this time of year and we trekked our jeeps through the tropical grasses to get to it. The ice cream truck filled with cops made it too.

The chief was there to greet us in his traditional garb. I will tell you now, he had three or four clothing changes during our time there. It was 100000 degrees.

There were chairs in a circle for another traditional tribal greeting. I sat next to Bob Yule and Kenny, Keith and Olivier sat on the other side of the circle. This was going to be good- and we knew it.

First things first, they asked us the news and we asked them the news. We had that part down. Then……. They brought out the goat. It was a present for us. They didn’t slaughter it in front of us, but I’ll get to that later. The chief’s assistant then brought out a boiling pot of something. We learned it was fermented palm juice. Keith looked horrified.

Kenny was filming. They passed around a wooden cup of this concoction. We poured out a bit on the ground for the ancestors- oh yes we did. It actually tasted pretty good. I went first among our group- you are supposed to chug the entire thing and I tried with all my might. Sister Felicity had 4 or 5 cupfuls and she finished mine as well. Olivier warned us that it’s okay to drink one, but if we want to be functional- stop there.

Tribal Ceremony

Palm Wine at the Tribal Ceremony

They made 14 litres of the fermented palm juice for us. Whatever we didn’t drink, the chief’s assistant was responsible to finish. He had to be hammered by mid afternoon.

The interview with Kevin’s father was incredible. Keith stopped me at 3 tapes. He wept as he told us about carrying his son for several kilometers to the main road and then begging the truckers to pick them up to take them to the hospital. This strong man- the chief of several villages- the epitomy of masculinity- shared the most intimate details of taking care of his son. He went to every doctor appointment- every support group meeting. He never left his son’s side.

I have never seen so many goats, chickens, and pigs in my life. It’s a sound man’s nightmare. At one point a sheep was bleating so loudly in the background of our interview that Bob Yule ran off to scare them away. Yes, we have it on tape. His new name is The Goat Whisperer.

We could have filmed all day but they insisted we stop for a lunch break. Again, tribal protocol. The goat had been slaughtered and it was time to eat! Goat and rice.

It actually tasted pretty good, until Olivier pointed out the hair. There was still hair on the meat and we had no knives to cut it off. I realized I had a piece of hair in my teeth and it was over for me. The delicious gravy was made from the goat’s stomach. I ate rice.

We followed Kevin and his dad to their farm. They told us they come there to dream about the future. Kevin looks forward to the day he has HIV negative children and told us that god has different plans for him right now. The ice cream truck full of cops got stuck in the mud at the farm.

We needed to hightail it back to Abidjan before dark. The roads are treacherous at night and there are bandits and carjackers. But, Dan Meagan, and the production team- don’t worry. The tapes we shot were in the ice cream truck with the cops. No one was getting the most precious cargo.

We took Kevin home and met Beatrice. She had been released from the hospital and was sitting on the floor of their home, sick, tired, sad. She had an opportunistic infection and she didn’t look good at all. It wasn’t appropriate to film. Dr. Diby was very worried about her- I offered all of the antibiotics my doctor prescribed for me “just in case”. There is no need for me to come home with them. Pills grow on trees in America.

On the way back to Abidjan we were so excited- after 10 meals of chicken and rice, we couldn’t wait to get to the Novotel and have a proper hotel dinner. Anything but chicken and rice.

New saying= Abidjan = Sofitel not Novotel.

We showered and couldn’t wait to get to dinner. We had the choice of a buffet or the menu. I almost gagged when I saw chicken and rice on the buffet, so I ordered pasta. I think no matter what choice we made, it was all bad. Really bad.

So- it was off to the bar. They have fernet branca. Kenny still it “malaria” and told me it was his last fernet branca ever. It was at least a double. Not only do I now have a “Hi Alexander” around the world video… I am creating a “fernet branca” around the world video- filming the reaction of everyone that drinks the first shot of fernet. Children may read this, so I can’t tell you what Bob Yule said after he had his first sip. You’ll have to watch the video.

Keith had gone off to skype his wife. We decided he had to go spend an hour lighting the room before skyping her. A few Keno lights and a chimera at least!!!!

I think the fernet gave me malaria.

We are nearing the end of the trip. Tomorrow we are wheels up at 8:30 pm and I will be home Tuesday in time for dinner. I don’t know when all of these experiences are going to hit me and I don’t know if they’ll hit me all at once or gradually over time when I see something that triggers a memory. I am going to miss this new family we created over 17 days across a continent, but I can’t wait to get home to my own family. It’s father’s day and I wish I was there to have pancakes with my boys. I can’t wait to hear about their father/son adventures and I hope they know how much I love them and how much more lucky I feel to have them and hold them everyday. I do not have words for the gratitude I have for the people back home. See you soon. By the way- no chicken and rice for a while.

Ghana

Jessica — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:04:00 EST

Even though I was in Ghana less than 48 hours ago, it’s already a blur. Ethiopia feels like it was 10 years ago. My family feels even farther away, but we are nearing the end of the trip.

Ghana- or “Africa Light” as Jean Baker put it to me, was a bit of a whirlwind. The flight was 6 hours from Ethiopia and we gained 3 hours time- the equivalent of flying New York to LA. We landed and were met by Ralph from the US Embassy. He cruised us through customs. Unbelievable! We got to the parking lot with all of the luggage and felt like we had gotten away with something.

Everyone in Ghana is talking about Obama’s upcoming trip there. The “Obama Hotel” will be opening soon. Like the “Obama café and Juice Bar”, it seems everyone takes claims to our President.

Our fixer, Eric, was a 23 year old “Ga” and was eager to please. In fact, he finally got a Visa for Kenny which no one else could do! We went to our hotel, The Golden Tulip, and met with our new photographer, Olivier. Olivier is a French-Canadian that lived in Ghana for 4 years. People we meet love that about him and he moves around with such ease.

So now we have a French-Canadian, 2 Americans, a South African, Eric our local young ghanain and Kwami, our driver. Kwami’s driving was terrifying, to say the least. Accra traffic is hideous, and people like Kwami are the reason why.

The first evening there, we headed out to Jamestown Harbor to get some scenic shots of Accra.

Jamestown harbor probably looks the same today as it did a few hundred years ago. Every morning before dawn, fishermen in long boats head out on the Ocean and return at Dusk. There are thousands of boats- quite a scene.

While we were shooting, I remembered why I was uneasy the last time I was there. The Ghanians HATE being filmed. We were yelled at and spit at. But Eric, our fixer, could speak the local language (GA) and told them we were there for a good cause. We had about a dozen “protectors” by the time the light was too dim to shoot any longer.

The following morning, we headed to the Osu Maternity Home to shoot our story about breast feeding. About 10 years ago, Unicef funded a program to educate and encourage women to breastfeed. The Ghanain Government took the reigns and implemented policy . The breast feeding program has had great success. We were surrounded by fat happy babies and yes….boobs. It was a true paradox from Ethiopia.

We witnessed a woman feed her baby right after she gave birth. No epidural, no screaming, no husband telling her to push…. Just simple quiet birth.

I love the Ghanian women I have met. They are strong and funny and support each other in a great way. We were shooting at a support group and one of the women referred to Kenny as “Plenty of hair” and to Keith as “cola nut head”. When I told them I had a one year old son, they all grilled me- “who is breastfeeding your son while you are gone?”.

Slideshow: Mothers in Ghana Learn About Breastfeeding Techniques

In Ghana, the shops have names, like “Psalm 91 Mangoes” or “The Annointed One Drum Shop”. They love the Lord.

We shopped for a minute in the afternoon and I created a video for Alexander. I bought a drum for him from a rasta man at the “Trinity Drum Shop”.

It’s the rainy season, and Ghana didn’t let us down. It was dreary and we experienced a few torrential downpours. We spent our second and final day in Ghana heading to a mango farm a few hours outside of Accra. The program is excellent- USAID and several other organizations give seed money and education to farmers. It seems like anything can grow in Ghana’s climate, and the farmers have built great business. Not only are the educated re: farming, they also learn things like bookkeeping and CPR. The day we were there, the CPR class was taking place. I peeked in the room to find the teacher demonstrating CPR on a farmer laying flat on the floor. It was odd.

We didn’t have enough time to give the story real justice. And we missed the mango harvest by a week. It turns out NEXT week will be bustling with activity… it would be great to come back and film this agriculture story all over Ghana. I am not well versed on Ghana’s history and politics, but it’s clear that when a steady government takes over aid programs and implements policy, it creates sustainable success for its people.

We visited a rural breast feeding support group – more boobs for Kenny, Keith, and Olivier. As we headed back, we randomly stopped at a rural home to shoot some more b-roll. We had quite an experience there. We met Rebecca, a mother of 8 children with arms that Madonna or Michelle Obama would envy. We spent about an hour with the family as they prepared their evening meal. Rebecca had her children in a hospital b/c she learned in Ante natal classes that it was the best thing to do. She had to travel by boat to the hospital when she was in labor. Tough ride.. She breast fed all but her eldest child (something else she learned in her classes) and noticed a difference. We watched the kids work and play. At one point, one of the daughters was feeding the chickens and the youngest baby was sitting on the ground amongst them- the feed kept bouncing off the baby’s head as the chickens scrambled around him to eat. He looked like he was part of the hen peck. What a trip. I loved this family and I am glad we stumbled upon them on the road. Our hour there brought me a sort of peace I haven’t felt in some time.

We went back to the hotel and sipped pina coladas and listened to the lounge singer as he belched the worse rendition of “unchained melody” I have ever heard. The lounge singers were making up words to songs.. it was hideously delightful.

Then I got the call…..

We were heading to Cote D’Ivoire the following day ( I can’t manage to keep track of the days- I think it was Thursday). The final story we were planning to film was the story of a man named Kevin and his father, a tribal chief. Kevin became incredibly ill, and his father encouraged him to be tested for HIV. When the test was positive, the chief embraced his son, defying the cultural attitude. He set up HIV testing days in his village- went to every single appointment and support group meeting with Kevin. He gathered tribal chiefs together and encouraged them to have the villages get tested. Kevin was now working at a clinic, and his fiancé, also HIV positive, was pregnant- on PCMTCT drugs- which gives the babies a chance to be born HIV negative. It was a wonderful father son story and we were looking forward to filming. It was something we knew the world would relate to- a story that only happens once in a while and is a gem to capture. A story that was worth traveling across the world to witness.

Two nights before we came, Kevin’s Fiance went into early labor. It turns out, she was pregnant with twins.

There is a health workers strike taking place in Cote D’Ivoire right now, so she had no hospital to go to. The nuns at the clinic where Kevin works did everything they could to help Beatrice in labor. The first baby, a girl, died at birth. The second baby was struggling and so was Kevin’s Fiance. The night was going to be touch and go and no one was certain what would happen. The team at EGPAF (The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation) were scrambling to get Beatrice and the second baby into a private hospital- two hours away from the village. Everything was touch and go.

How do you win in Africa? What is winning? If you overcome the fact you have HIV by taking free ARV’s the government supplies and have the medicine to prevent your child from contracting HIV, but you have no incubators to help ensure the baby’s safe entry into the world, how do you move forward? If you take ARV’s, have a small amount of available health care, but no jobs or sanitation, how do you win?

As producers and photographers, we weren’t sure what to do. How do you tell this story? How do we roll in and invade their lives? Was Beatrice going to be alive when our plane landed? I knew the second baby – a boy- wouldn’t survive the night. He just wouldn’t . I wanted to be wrong. How do we tell this story of a man’s love for his son when the son just lost the chance to be a parent?

After several calls and emails back to the States, we figured it best to come to Cote D’voire and see what happens.

Ethiopia - Part 4

Jessica — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST

We spent the evening night in Nazret at “The German Hotel”. No air conditioning and lots of mosquitos. The rooms were bare, but the dining room had at least 20 of the ugliest chandeliers I’ve ever seen. We came to a consensus that communists built the place- not Germans. Kenny slept on his balcony. By now, we had a new addition to the group- Antonio- an Italian/Ethiopian still photographer we hired to replace Wondy. Wondy, our first hire was a fantastic “Olan Mills” photographer but a terrible field photographer with a very scary wife. It wasn’t working Antonio looks Ethiopian, but speaks with a heavy Italian accent- hands flying and all. He wears lots of jewelry.

We went to dinner that evening and I introduced Kenny to “Fernet Branca” my favorite Italian apertif. Antonio was elated that I knew of it. Kenny drank two shots and swears to this day it gave him malaria.

Thursday we visited an IOCC site- an orphanage that has several USAID donated cows. The whole concept is that the cows make milk which is fed to the sick orphans. This nutritional supplement – a simple glass of warm milk- has made a huge difference in the health of the boys. The cows have multiplied –thus sustained- and they use the dung for bio fuel to run the stoves for cooking the kids’ food. Pretty cool. They don’t know how many of the children are HIV positive. They’ve tested 5 positive so far and these kids are on meds. There are likely many many more.

The orphanage is run by the Orthodox Church and we were met at the site by the Archbishop- a 78 year old spry with a quick sense of humor and a quick step. He showed us his new church, his honeybees, and The Tree. A most magnificent tree that would put the Redwoods in California to shame. What did the tree have to do with Global Health? We don’t know. It’s just clear that we go where the Archbishop wants us to go. He also blessed Alexander, calling him “Alexander the Great.”

We then went to film the barber a Nazret. This became a huge issue when we found out the barber had expected us the day before and headed to Addis. She returned for us, but boy did I have to issue my apologies for the schedule confusion. We did not need a translator b/c you could tell how she was feeling and what she was saying with her expressions. She was a pistol. I love her. She has 3 beautiful children and has taken in 2 aids orphans. She’s a single mom (her husband infected her with HIV and didn’t tell her- so she left him). Her barber “shop” is a storage container in the middle of a very busy market. It was chaos when we arrived to film. It was late and we were losing light…. We managed to film it all in an hour- quite a miracle. Keith and Kenny looked liked pied piper’s walking through the market- with dozens, maybe hundreds of people following them .

When we got to the barber shop, she didn’t have the key- so we literally took a crowbar and broke in. (I will be expensing another lock for her). Her interview was passionate and her message as big as her smile. I am proud and privileged to be responsible for telling her story.

Saturday we headed out to shoot Addis scenics in the morning. In broad daylight, in front of hundreds of people and 2 feet away from Kenny, I was mugged. I had knelt down to take pictures of some children, and the next thing I know I see two hands grabbing my camera. But the thing was, I had the camera strap around my wrist. So my mugger ran off with my camera- and me- in tow. It’s quite a blur, but for some reason, I fought like hell to hold onto that camera. I’m sure it has to do with the 600 hundred photos that can never be replaced. Apparently he dragged me for quite some time- maybe 10 or 20 feet- he was strong….. but then Misgana came to my rescue. Kenny recounted that Misgana jumped over me and tackled him, taking us all to the ground. We fell down a two foot rocky embankment- I probably did some sort of somersault. Misgana had him by the shirt and hit him with a rock. The guy ran off into the alley.

When the dust cleared, I found myself on the ground, bloody, and my things were scattered everywhere. The women in the market wre outraged and rushed to my aid. They picked up my hat, my bag, my flip, batteries, chapstick off the ground while Kenny picked me up. I was very shaken. Keith was so concentrated on shooting, he never saw what happened (but the audio is on tape 27 at 8 minutes in !). My hero, Misgana, now earned the name Jackie Chan. He decided from that moment on he was my brother and my permanent protector.

I still had the camera wrapped around my wrist. I still have my precious pictures. We won.
Shaken, but not stirred, we headed to interview Dr. Mulu amuu (spelling not right) at Yakatit neo natal unit. ? First things first, they bandaged me up and put some horrible burning something on my wounds. It was hard to believe I had just gone from a street mugging into a neo natal unit, filled with babies struggling to survive
Our friend Zenawit joined us and warned me I would cry. I tried to prepare myself, but how do you prepare yourself to see dying babies?

This unit, the most advanced in all of Ethiopia, did not have heart monitors, or oxygen. In fact, the unit was about as bare bones as I had seen any clinic. They are in desperate need of EVERYTHING- diapers, formula, anything.. They had a few incubators and some donated machinery, but only one doctor. Dr. Mulu amuu works 7 days a week and has done so for years. She has two nurse assistants. She saw over 6000 babies last year alone. She is on the brink.

As we walked through the neo natal unit, so much of the terminology sounded familiar to me. Since Alexander was born premature, he had a few things in common with the peanuts I met that morning. Meconium in his lungs, wasn’t breathing when he was born, was tiny, wasn’t latching.. etc. The difference is that my hospital had a respirator. There was a team of nurses and doctors 24 hours a day. There was always electricity.

She introduced us to a set of twins. The tinier one was blue and his eyes looked funny. She realized at that moment the baby stopped breathing. We filmed as she calmly performed infant cpr, pushing his tiny chest and pushing oxygen into his lungs. She revived him. When I asked her the chances of the baby surviving, she held up her hand and made a zero. She said he would be dead within a few hours

If she had a respirator like the doctor treating Alexander had, she could save him. She didn’t. There aren’t any respirators in Ethiopia. Without a heart monitor, the nurses had to stand over the baby to see if he was breathing. There were 19 other babies in the unit that needed the same kind of attention.

The doctor’s interview was incredible. She fights and fights and fights. One soldier in an army with no weapons to fight the infant mortality rate in Ethiopia. It’s 59 percent by the way, and that isn’t accurate b/c they can’t account for home births.

My last question to the Doctor was this “When I tell you I paid 5 dollars a month for my prenatal vitamins and my insurance covered all of my visits during my pregnancy, what do you feel?” She cried. Not out of anger or jealousy. She just cried. She told me “I know what to do. I have the education. But I have no resources to do it. I know what to do, but I don’t have any way to do it..”

Jessica Stuart's Video Diary

Saturday evening we were guests of the Health Minister at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. The food was incredible. The traditional dancing was magnificent. Yes, I have video on my flip of Kenny and Keith dancing with some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Keith had smooth moves. Kenny looked like Jeff Daniels in The Big Lebowski” trying to move his shoulders.

The advance team from the One Campaign joined us and we headed to The Sheraton after dinner. I realized how lucky our little team has been- in just one week. We have met magical people, laughed and cried, and have the incredible privilege and heavy responsibility of giving these stories justice.

The Sheraton in Addis is like someone picked up a hotel in Vegas and dropped it into the middle of Addis. It’s posh, it’s over the top. We ended up at some party the sheik (owner of the hotel) throws monthly. It was like a club/prom for the beautiful and rich in Ethiopia. We had glow sticks and did the electric slide. I found it ironic that I was mugged in the morning, witnessed death and birth in the afternoon, and was doing the electric slide by evening. That’s Ethiopia.

This video sums up our Ethiopia trip through the eyes of our soundman Kenny Garaghty.

Ethiopia - Part 3

Jessica — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:25:00 EST

The following day, with the Patriarch’s blessing, we became the first film crew to shoot the holy site in several years. We made the trek down the mountain side (huffing and puffing) with our fixers, Solomon, and 2 hired “sherpas”. As we inched our way down the rocks, I looked through the trees of the Eucalyptus forest, and saw hundreds of people descending upon the holy site. I will add, they were mostly barefoot and MUCH faster than we were. People also sat among the trees deep in prayer- silent, stoic, sick.

The service at the site was a surreal blur of sounds and smells. Hundreds praying, wailing, coughing, chanting, kneeling. I stood to the side of the alter and. I’m not really sure I can explain what I was feeling at that moment.. I was certainly in “producer’s mode” thinking about the shots (the “church” was very very dark) but I began to pray along with the people. I smelled “sick”- if any of you have traveled to a clinic you know what I mean by that- then incense- heavy incense- as a purple robed priest came in while the believers prostrated themselves.

I must now mention that I was baptized twice that day. The head of the holy spring blessed me twice and named me WalatuMariam – sister of Mary. Kenny is gabri mariam, or son of Mary, and Keith was… we can’t remember but it translated to “nephew of mary”. He had me kiss the cross twice. Can I just reiterate that thousands and thousands and thousands of sick people have kissed that cross. When it came time for Keith to kiss the cross, he managed to escape and shoot “b-roll”. (Keith managed to dissapear to “shoot b-roll” anytime we were offered coffee or any kind of courtesy food. I had been left to sip the coffee on my own- and give the rest to Misgana when people weren’t looking)

We then visited Solomon’s clinic. The patients had already left for the day (our shoot schedule turned into “Africa time” and we were late for everything) but we met the doctors. Dr. Ferhud, a curly haired bright eyed doctor, choked up when I asked him why he did this job (for $150 US dollars a month). He told me the story of his first HIV patient. This man was an outcast living at the Holy Water site and came to receive treatment. He now has a prosperous business and two children. That’s why he does it- one at a time.

Dr Solomon’s sit down interview brought me to tears. He’s feisty, smart, and damn determined. I asked him why he did his job and he said “a life is a life. Who is to put a price on that? You?” He said lots of other fantastic things that I can’t remember at the moment- but you will see it on tape.

He also introduced us to Henock. An orphan that came to the clinic on the verge of death. He’s prospering now- waiting to take his 10th grade exams. In full teenager mode, he didn’t want us to shoot his face, but we have shocking “before and after” photos Solomon took of his condition.

Henock in his Obama t-shirt

Henock wore an Obama t-shirt. I should have brought more Obama gear to give as gifts. Obama is EVERYWHERE. We learned from the Minister of Health that “Yes We Can” is actually a phrase coined in Ethiopia. He did say that Obama gave this politician credit in a speech.. but I don’t know how accurate. It seems everyone wants to take responsibility for our President. Keith and I saw the “Obama Café and Juice Bar”. Yes we took pictures of the sign. We also took pictures of “Burger Queen” and “Kalfi Coffee” which I have referred to all week as “fake Starbucks”. The coffee is damn good in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia - Part 2

Jessica — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST

The clinic at Entoto also has an MDRTB clinic (drug resistant TB). Drug resistant TB is a death sentence, but this clinic – one of the only in the country- is a chance. I met Tseghe here, a 23 year old beauty, who would peek around corners and through windows watching us. I came to her to take her picture and she told me her story. She traveled over 700 kilometers by bus to the clinic. She has a husband and a child- both have had TB twice. When she found out she had MDRTB, a charity paid for her transport. She showed me a picture of her son. I showed her a picture of mine… and she stole it. She stood there and kissed his face and said “I love you I love you I love you” over and over again. I get choked up thinking that Alexander’s picture remains in that hospital for another year with her- next to her son’s photograph. She’s been there 6 months and it will likely be another year before she can leave. There were 8 patients living in the MDRTB clinic that day… but only 7 when we had finished filming. 2 days later, when we returned to Entoto, we saw another body being rolled down the drive, with two men wearing masks and rubber gloves pushing the gurney. The body looked so tiny under the sheet-I wondered about this person’s story. I was relieved to see my friend Tseghe peeking around the corner at me once again. I gave her a lipgloss. I don’t know why… but it seemed strangely appropriate. It’s funny- we didn’t come to shoot the MDRTB clinic- but I was lucky to meet her.

Ethiopia - Part 1

Jessica — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST

Please read my travel blog regarding my 17 days across Africa: the most phenomenal experience of my life.

The flight over was comfortable. Keith met me a Dulles and we flew together to Addis Ababa. We had a stopover in Rome- my first official visit to Italy- however, we didn’t even disembark from the plane. I will probably say this countless times, but I am so happy to have Keith on this journey!

We arrived in Ethiopia late Sunday evening and our entry into Ethiopia with our equipment was relatively painless. Our P2 camera was confiscated at the airport but we were able to retrieve it the following evening with the correct filming permits.

Our fixer Misgana , who now refers to himself as my brother/body guard/Jackie Chan (more on that later), met us at the airport and basically held it all together for us the entire week. Despite our worries, our contacts were completely prepared for our arrival and had planned everything based on our requests. Kenny,our sound man from South Africa- arrived on time and we officially became a team.

We are quite a threesome- Kenny is about 6 foot 2, long hair, and “fantastic” (a word he uses quite often) South African Accent. Keith is like a movie star here- the women everywhere we go are smitten. And then there is me……… bright blonde hair, short and of course…loud. Kenny has a way with folks- he brings people to laugh with his great smile and “wookie” (that’s what he calls his boom). Keith brings a calm, relaxed, energy to every shoot, which is priceless. Our interview subjects feel safe with Keith and he is able to capture the most subtle moments.

The hotel in Ethiopia was a nice oasis—had a great breakfast buffet (which is always a treat for me when traveling overseas… I know that sounds strange, but it’s true). The fruit always tastes better in Africa.

I’ve learned on this trip. US Cash is king. No one takes credit cards and no one will accept travelers checks.

Our first story was a USAID/Johns Hopkins program on Mount Entoto- a holy water site. We interviewed His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian equivalent of the Pope. The Ethiopians’ deep faith is quite remarkable. What the church says- goes. We see some of the poorest people on the planet and yet their faith, trust, and fear of the church is something unshakeable. It’s always fascinating to witness religion embedded in the culture this way.

The Patriarch is an extremely well educated man. He gave our interview in English and had quite a sense of humor. He wore white robes and major gold chains/crosses around his neck. His interview chair was a throne. Thinking back on it now, I remember how awed Misgana was by the fact we had the opportunity to interview the Patriarch. Because we don’t always understand the context, we often don’t realize how lucky we are to be in the presence of many we interview..The Patriarch blessed my mother, me, and Alexander. All week – Misgana told everyone we met that my son had been blessed by the Patriarch.

The Entoto-holy water program is absolutely brilliant in its simplicity. When an Ethiopian is sick or if there is an assumption in the community they are ill, they will often flee to Holy Water sites, to pray, be baptized, and cured by the Holy water and the priests. The mountain is a place for community outcasts. The sick live and trek miles on foot every day to the holy water site.

For years, the church and the medical community have been at odds. The church tells the patients that only God and Holy Water can cure them--- adversely the medical community has constantly fought the church and attempted to recruit patients. With such religion steeped into the culture and psyche of Ethiopia… guess who was winning.

In comes Dr. Solomon Zewdu from Johns Hopkins. Kenny, Keith, and I are now proud to call him our friend. We spent many days with Dr. Solomon including our last evening in Ethiopia, filled with wine, great discussion, and some genuine whole hearted laughter. Dr. Solomon was born in Ethiopia but moved to the States. He went to med school and then the military, becoming an Air Force One Surgeon. Now he oversees The Hopkins program- over 50 HIV clinics and 200 staff dedicated to eradicating HIV. He’s also dedicated to eradicating bureaucracy (I think he’ll have more success with the former).

Anyway- Dr. Solomon realized the mountain was the only sensible place for a clinic. He decided to approach the Patriarch and see if they could find a commonplace. Dr. Solomon planted a seed in the Patriarch’s head- and he absolutely ran with it.

His Holiness has declared that because God made man, God made medicine. So the Holy Water taken with the medicine is the best approach. The Patriarch is working with the high levels of clergy to spread this message. I must now note that there are 70,000 clergymen in Ethiopia. With millions of dedicated followers, that’s quite an outreach. It’s coming along slowly—but it’s starting…. Thanks to Dr. Solomon’s idea. He embraced the culture and created a tangible, free, and effective outreach program. It’s working. We saw it with our own eyes.

The Living Proof Project

Jessica — Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 EST

I’m incredibly excited to announce that I will be working for Home Front Communications on The Living Proof Project, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I leave for Africa at the beginning of June. I am exhilarated (because this is what I feel I was born to do). It will be incredibly hard to leave Alexander (my son) and Husband, Dave, but I know this is work I am meant to do.

Lebanese Renaissance Foundation

Jessica — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

I’ve begun consulting with 30 Point Strategies, under the wise leadership of Noam Neusner. I’ll be in charge of television media strategy for the Lebanese Renaissance Foundation. This is a remarkable group whose leaders pushed the Syrians out of Lebanon peacefully. The elections take place in June and are vital to the stability of Lebanon’s democratic process.

www.lebanonrenaissance.org

The World Science Festival Foundation

Jessica — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:01:00 EST

I’ll spend the next few months working for The World Science Festival Foundation. It’s their second annual event that takes science and brings it to the mainstream all over New York City. I’m very excited to see what they develop this year!

Learn more: www.worldsciencefestival.com

Inauguration

Jessica — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

I had the privilege to cover the Inauguration for NBC News, Specials. I was posted on the capitol steps and around the VIP section. It was an amazing experience… so fun to work again for the Company that gave me the first shot in the television business.

I also had a busy January helping Harpo productions prior to their live production in Washington. Lots of advance, advice, and a few shoots.

Capitol at 5am on Inauguration Day.

My view from the Capitol

My view from our post