Dangerous Curves
editor :: short documentary :: 2016
directed by Merete Mueller
Plus-size pole dancer Roslyn Mays uncovers vulnerability and strength through public exposure. "Dangerous Curves begs the question, do curvy women threaten our ideals of beauty? The answer is yes, and brave women like Roslyn Mays (the focus of this doc) couldn’t be more inspiring role models. While the female figure has long been subject to objectification, documentarian Merete Mueller explores an inverted perspective, placing the gaze within the minds of those women who dare put themselves on display." (Short of the Week)
Winner of Best Short Documentary Port Townsend Film Festival; Official Selection of Rooftop Films, New Orleans Film Festival, Sidewalk Film Festival, Cucalorus Film Festival, Athena Film Festival, Montclair Film Festival and more. Featured as a Short of the Week, a Vimeo Staff Pick, and (as an abbreviated version) a New York Times Op-Doc.
WE HAVE REACHED THE MOMENT
editor :: short documentary :: 2021
directed by Christi Cooper and Liz Smith
Vic Barrett was just 12 years old when Hurricane Sandy devastated neighborhoods in his native New York City. Since then, he has used his voice to combat the climate crisis, including speaking in front of the United Nations, testifying before Congress, and joining fellow youth plaintiffs on Juliana v United States, the landmark U.S. constitutional climate change lawsuit. His message has traveled far, but perhaps his most important audience remains his own father.
We Have Reached the Moment follows Vic’s journey as he shares the impacts of the climate crisis with his climate-denying father. Adding to this deeply emotional challenge is Vic’s concurrent gender transition, which simultaneously shifts their relationship from father-daughter to father-son. Vic, like any one of us, desires acceptance, love, and support from his parent, but how do you connect with loved ones when their belief systems undermine your very identity and right to a safe future?
We Have Reached the Moment is something of a companion piece to YOUTH v GOV and screened at Calgary Black Film Festival, DCEF, EarthX, ReFrame, United Nations Association Film Festival, and Planet in Focus.
CAVU
editor of multiple short documentaries and institutional support :: 2007-2016
CAVU is a non-profit organization using visual storytelling and community engagement to support local solutions to the global climate crisis. Over the years I’ve worked with them on the ground in production, edited a number of their films, and helped create other organizational tools. Between 2007-2015 I was a lead editor and part of the production crew for seven projects. Each was followed by educational campaigns, use by on-the-ground partners, and sometimes legislative change. Clips coming soon, see more at www.cavu.org
Voces Del Darién (30 min)
Darién is blessed with an extraordinarily rich cultural history and is home to the vital Darién Gap which acts as the land bridge between the American continents. For over 500 years it has been home to a diverse mix of Afro-Caribbean, indigenous and colono communities, all of them proud Dariénitas. Today, however, rapid change overwhelms both the land and its people. Unsustainable logging and road construction is quickly destroying both the forest and a way of life, and threatens consequences far beyond the region itself.
Made in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund and Fundación Natura, SOMASPA, Fundacion Casa Taller, COPEG, ANCON, The Peregrine Fund and ANAM.
Nuestras Aguas, Nuestra Vida (30 min)
Water is life, and along Costa Rica’s once remote south Pacific coast, a crisis looms. The access to potable water, one of the most basic of human rights, is in jeopardy. Unplanned development has parceled coastal mountains and rainforest, unleashing a cycle of erosion and pollution that gravely threatens the Parque Nacional Marino Ballena, Latin America’s first marine park, and the region’s sustainable tourism-based economy.
Made in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and Uvita ASADA.
Agua Más Que Un Tubo (15 min)
Through the reforestation of lands surrounding their water sources, ecological loans to reclaim their watershed, and the involvement of all members of the community, the people of Río La Balsa are fighting to protect a quality of life they have enjoyed for generations. They are all aware that the quality of the water itself cannot be taken for granted. Made in partnership with the Nectandra Institute, the Communities of Rio La Balsa, and narrated and with an onscreen appearance by Alvaro Ugalde, the legendary founder of Costa Rica’s National Park System.
Cockscomb: Jaguar Proud (25 min)
”We will only protect what we love. We will only protect what we understand,” says big cat specialist Dr. Omar Figueroa, as he reflects deep in the jungles of The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, the world’s first jaguar reserve. The sanctuary remains today a model for conservation – and a point of pride for Belizeans and Maya, who have long revered the jaguar in spirit and flesh.
Made in partnership with Wildlife Conservation Society, The Panthera Foundation, and Belize Audobon Society.
Someday Is Now (38 min) and Reefs for People (Web Series)
The Mesoamerican Reef is Belize's crown jewel and a major economic engine for the country. As the longest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, it provides this Central American nation with thriving lobster, conch and reef fish fisheries, a strong cultural icon, and a magnet for hundreds of thousands of tourists who come each year to enjoy its outstanding diving, snorkeling and fishing opportunities. This incredible resource is in peril. Unplanned development of coastal areas -- including dredging and filling of critical mangrove forests, contamination, and overfishing -- all threaten the reef and Belizean livelihoods. In Someday is Now and the accompanying Reefs for People series, the people of Belize speak out, demanding a coastal zone management plan and a responsible path for development.
Made in partnership with The Oak Foundation, Conservation International, Healthy Reefs for Healthy People, APAMO, and CZMAI.
Ahead of the Tide (10 part web series and 23 min standalone piece)
Ahead of the Tide is an independent movement launching a 10 part video series highlighting the effects of sea level rise and climate change through the stories and voices of local Floridians. Each short video (5 to 7 minutes) showcases various aspects concerning sea level rise and includes interviews with scientists, engineers, politicians, conservation directors, educators, authors, and activists.
Made in partnership with Sea Turtle Conservancy, Surf Rider, and multiple Florida organizations.
Institutional Support Additionally I helped CAVU manage media from over a dozen films, spanning multiple partners, countries, and years. This also involved editing pieces about CAVU’s work, delivering critical content to partner organizations and legislative campaigns, and assisting to edit pieces for partner nonprofits such as Girls Inc, The Lensic, CARE, and more.
Wild & Wool
editor :: documentary short :: 2020
directed by Phillip Baribeau; co-editor Brian Wilson, assistant editor Wes Overvold
The majestic bighorn sheep is an icon of the American West. But its survival is threatened by another Western tradition — the grazing of domesticated sheep on public lands. Domesticated sheep carry a respiratory pathogen known as M. ovi, which can cause outbreaks of pneumonia and lamb deaths in bighorns. As conservation efforts ramp to rebound bighorn populations, the wool industry, scientific community, and wildlife advocates are at a crossroads. Wild & Wool documents a year-long look at a dedicated research team racing to understand the complexities and challenges of M.ovi before the next outbreak devastates the species.
Wild & Wool kicked off its festival tour with the International Wildlife Film Festival, Mountainfilm, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, and Woods Hole. It is also being used to educate and inspire dialogue between conservationists and farmers.
OUR OWN HOUSE
editor :: documentary short :: 2020
directed by Vanessa Bergonzoli, Jeremy Kaplan, Tyler Robinson; assistant/additional editors Minoo Allen, Chris Cory
Punta Gorda Town, or PG as the locals call it, is in the southernmost region of Belize surrounded by some of the richest natural environments in Central America. It’s a small town so remote people remember a time with unpaved roads and no plastics in sight. Yet, in just over a decade, plastics have sprung up everywhere and the usually carefree existence in Punta Gorda is threatened. Our Own House is a portrait of a community coming to grips with the reality of managing plastic in one of the most remote towns in the world.
Our Own House kicked off its festival run at The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, and went on to have a virtual run due to the pandemic, including Vision du Réel.
MIAMI UNDERWATER - THE ART OF UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE
editor, episode 5 :: web series :: 2018
directed by Merete Mueller
In The New Yorker: Miami Faces An Underwater Future; Episode: The Art of Understanding Climate Change
When tackling relatively slow moving threats like climate change and sea level rise, how can artists, educators, and activists motivate the people of Miami to fight now for change that will increase the city’s chances of survival in the future? The future livability of Miami does not just depend upon rational solutions to technical problems, but also hinges upon the will of its people to passionately fight for the soul of their city.
The web series was produced in conjunction with The New Yorker Magazine and Van Alen Institute, as part of an ongoing series reporting on climate and infrastructure in the US.
OLDER FILMS
editor
Some favorites from the archives, some even going back to the miniDV days:
THE IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT, on the re-inventing of instant analog film
DEAD SEA SCROLLS, an Emmy-winning TV special
OK GO: MAKING OF THIS TOO SHALL PASS, teasers and longer-form pieces made with director Lulu Wang
PESCANDO EL GOLFO, my first documentary and co-directed with Lulu Wang, made when we were invited to join fishers and scientists working towards a sustainable fishery in one of the world’s most biodiverse marine environments, el Golfo de Chiriquí
A SAINT IN MY GARDEN, a personal, favorite project of mine about my mother and abstract expressionist artist Adele Travisano and her series of paintings inspired by the life of St. Francis. I also co-directed and shot the film.
LA VERITE DU CIEL, a deeply personal journey for director Jim McSherry, the film explores the different ways we experience sudden, life-altering loss. I also shot this film.
HOMEBOY, also from director Jim McSherry, a short film about three people who went through the Homeboy Industries program. The film premiered at DocumentaMadrid.
FESTIVAL21 SHORTS, a series of shorts for the sustainability and food festival in Melbourne, made with director Amy Browne.