Forgotten Ellis Island in NY Times

A scene from the film ‘Forgotten Ellis Island’

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JR, a French photographer, was as captivated as I was by the empty hospital buildings located on Ellis Island‘s south side.

After ten years of research, writing, and filming the buildings and former patients, Forgotten Ellis Island the film I produced and directed was broadcast and continues to be broadcast on PBS. The dvd and companion book to Forgotten Ellis Island can be purchased here.

Today, a new exhibit has been installed in some of the hauntingly beautiful rooms and hallways of the hospital. Featuring several archival photographs of immigrant patients and their families, the hospital breathes life once again. Bringing faces from the past into the present. Click here or on the photo to read the article

in the NY TIMES for more information about tickets to view the buildings and exhibit. Expect to be moved by it…

 

NPR’s Margot Adler

NPR’s Margot Adler died today. I never knew her personally. But I loved her reports because it seemed like she always asked the questions I was thinking. She seemed intensely curious about many things and told stories in a way that made the people she was talking about present in the room. Tough to do in radio reporting! The saddest part about her death is the 23 year old son she left behind.

Juli Windsor Leads The Way

3 foot 9 nine inch runner Juli Windsor is pictured here running the 2014 Boston Marathon with Boston Globe reporter David Abel with whom I’m co-producing The Little Leader about Juli’s experience running both the 2013 and 2014 Boston Marathons. Runner’s World recently published this article written by David Abel about running with her.

Zimbabwe’s Road to Ruin

zimbabwe-08A year after the election of Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe continues to decline. Unemployment is currently above 80% with the ruling party offering no economic sustainability programs. In this Huffington Post article, I detail the current situation in Zimbabwe.

Beatrice Mtetwa to Receive Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen Prize

beatrice2Beatrice Mtetwa has recently been chosen as the first woman to receive the prestigous Ivan Allen prize from Georgia Tech University. Known for her fearless human rights work as a lawyer in Zimbabwe, Mtetwa was the focus of Lorie Conway’s documentary Beatrice Mtetwa & The Rule of Law. Nearly 5,000 DVDs of the film have since been distributed throughout Africa; the film is being distributed on the continent via FOX television with additional broadcasts around the world.