Documentary

From peaks to front lines

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 19:41:38 +0000

From peaks to front lines Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/13/2024 - 13:41

Jordan Campbell takes a selfie after spending more than a week in what he called a ‘not-so-safe safehouse’ that was under attack from Russian forces. Photo by Jordan Campbell.

By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)

The clouds and clear skies fought for dominance over Kyiv, reflecting the tension on the ground, as Jordan Campbell stepped off the worst bus ride of his life—a 24-hour slog from Kraków, Poland, to Ukraine’s capital.

It was the second of what would be many trips to Ukraine, and the beginning of an ambitious documentary film. Standing at the bus station, weighted under camera
gear and body armor, he considered himself a storyteller.

Now, after three further visits to the front lines, he sees himself as a war journalist.

“It’s breaking my heart to see one of my favorite countries being hit like this,” Campbell (Comm’91) said. “I was embedded with NGOs, riding around in an ambulance, because I’m fascinated by humanitarians doing amazing work around the world. And the best thing I can do to serve humanity is go out, tell the stories and come back safe.”

Campbell traversed literal and figurative mountains to become the filmmaker he is today. Climbs in Tibet and Nepal gave him an up-close look at injustice and inequality, awakening a passion for humanitarianism. His work in media—in a senior communications role with Marmot and as a freelancer for National Geographic—gave him the tools to tell life-changing stories from across the globe.

“I was a corporate guy with a love of moonlight journalism,” he said.

In 2011, on assignment for National Geographic in war-ravaged South Sudan, Campbell documented the work of cataract surgeon Dr. Geoff Tabin. Upon returning to the States, he was approached by filmmaker Michael Herbener—who is also working on the Ukraine project—with the idea of using Campbell’s footage to make a documentary.

That film, Duk County: Peace Is in Sight in the New South Sudan, went on to win awards and was screened twice at the United Nations.

“The awards feel good, but I want to connect with the audience and have them feel the same way I felt when I was in the field,” Campbell said. “To take it to the United Nations twice, that’s the stuff that makes me feel like we’re having an impact.”

The desire for humanitarian impact—combined with his experience as a communications professional and visual storyteller—prompted Campbell to found Ramro Global
in 2019.

Its seven-person advisory council contributes insights into global challenges. Christina Tobias-Nahi, who specializes in the Middle East and North Africa for Ramro, met Campbell in 2018 when she spoke at CU ��«��Ƶ’s Conference on World Affairs.

She is based in Washington, D.C., and as director of public affairs, research and advocacy for Islamic Relief USA, she often travels to places with mass displacement.

“I do a lot of advocacy,” she said. “Everything is so political and contentious, and I admire Jordan’s willingness to use his voice to change political will in Washington.”

Somewhat unconventionally, Campbell also appoints advisors for issues that demand global attention, which is how Michael Carter—an expert in the geopolitics of power and energy—came to the board.

Carter’s experience comes from more than 25 years in the energy industry, where he works on issues of transparency and inequity, like lack of access to sustainable power and movement toward a lower-carbon future.

“It takes a very thoughtful and calm, compassionate mind to look at inequity and do something about it,” he said. “That’s the essence of what Jordan is trying to accomplish.”

As a business strategist, Carter has helped Campbell develop Ramro Global from concept to company. As an energy expert, he provides unique insight into the humanitarian projects Campbell chronicles.

Jordan puts his life in danger to bring these stories to people. I really admire his bravery.”

Christina Tobias-Nahi

“Some of the first targets the Russian army hit were the Ukrainian power plants,” Carter said. “Power allows us to communicate—especially through mobile phones—and I want to help Jordan communicate his message. He has dedicated himself to humanitarianism.”

Campbell is also dedicated to truth and authenticity, which is why he kept returning to Ukraine despite the rising risk. He hasn’t shied from documenting the desperation and destruction he saw working alongside Project Konstantin, a front-line medical evacuation team. Last year, when the U.S. Senate hosted a Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum event, Campbell presented a six-minute cut of the film, Ukraine Under Fire. He also met with Ukrainian Embassy staff.

“There were representatives from 60 countries in attendance who appreciated my testimony because I was an expert witness on what was going on there,” he said. “I’m not a cataract surgeon, I’m not a pediatric cardiac surgeon. But I’m a journalist and I’m a visual storyteller, and I can make some noise and do good things in the world.”

Campbell’s goal with Ukraine Under Fire is to capture a slice of the war while focusing on themes like democracy, sovereignty and—perhaps most important—resilience. He posted a teaser on the company’s website for public viewing and hopes screenings of the completed film in Washington and throughout Europe will help to further those themes.

“This can turn into such a bigger conflict,” he said. “The scale and scope drew me to the subject. And if you’re a journalist, you want to capture something, add value—and then get out of the way.”

Not only has he been shaken by the devastation while on the front lines, but
the impacts have followed him home: Nearly every place he visited has since been bombed, and he’s lost friends to the conflict, as well. It has, as he put it, “gotten under my rib cage.”

That’s only strengthened Campbell’s commitment to honoring their courage and sacrifice through his film.

“Some people become the bystanders, and some people become the heroes,” Tobias-Nahi said. “Jordan puts his life in danger to bring these stories to people, and it gives a face to that humanitarian need. I really admire his bravery.”

To get to the front lines of Ukraine, Jordan Campbell (Comm'91) took the road less traveled—from corporate communications to the mountains of Nepal—before stepping foot on the streets of Kyiv.

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Shifting the Lens

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 19:39:41 +0000

Shifting the Lens Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/14/2019 - 12:39

By Tayler Shaw (Jour, Span ex'21)
Photos by Abby Siegel

Nylah Burton

Karen Rothstein

Abby Siegel (CritMedia’19) is compelled to do something that’s usually ill advised in polite culture: Approach strangers to ask about their race and religion.

For her project, The Daughters of Esther, Siegel has profiled 11 women in a documentary photo series named after the Old Testament story of Queen Esther, who saved thousands of Jewish people from execution.

To Siegel, these women demonstrate Esther’s bravery by sharing their identities and struggles. Women like Nylah Burton, the Denver-based writer who first opened Siegel’s eyes to the need for more Jewish women of color to have their stories heard.

“Inclusivity is not equity, and so saying, ‘We accept Jews of color,’ is not the same thing as actually making Jews of color have an equal voice,” Burton told Siegel.

In “A Vital, Vulnerable Conversation With the Leaders of the Women’s March,” which appeared in The Nation, Burton encouraged Jewish women of color to attend the 2019 march amid boycotts.

Siegel—a white Jewish woman—wanted to hear more and, through that curiosity, created The Daughters of Esther project.

“It kind of just made me think more about how Judaism in America is mostly looked at through a white lens, and how we don’t hear those voices of two marginalized groups, which I wanted to bring to light,” Siegel says.

One of Siegel’s interview subjects, Karen Rothstein, was adopted from Seoul, South Korea, by Jewish parents at age 2. Highlighting the tensions that can arise for nonwhite Jewish women in everyday life, Rothstein recalled a Jewish speed-dating event she attended during her early 20s, during which she was questioned by other attendees as to why she was there.

“They felt like I was poaching their men. And (I) said, ‘I’m actually Jewish,’” she told Siegel.

Now working for the postproduction studio 11 Dollar Bill as a client services manager and associate producer, Siegel plans to continue her work on The Daughters of Esther. Her goal is to expand the project internationally and to teach others the lessons she continues to learn.

“There’s not one face to Judaism,” she says. “I hope people listen to their stories because they are important, and they’re a huge part of our Jewish community.”

Abby Siegel (CritMedia’19) is compelled to do something that’s usually ill advised in polite culture: Approach strangers to ask about their race and religion.

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From Cuba to America, and back again

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 16:02:03 +0000

From Cuba to America, and back again Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/13/2018 - 10:02

By Anna Blanco (Jour)

In the early 1960s, Operation Peter Pan brought 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children to the United States. One of them, 10-year-old Guillermo “Bill” Vidal, would grow up to become the mayor of Denver.

More than five decades after Vidal’s journey from Cuba to America, CMCI students made the 2,064-mile trip in reverse to tell Vidal’s story in their documentary, ¿Como Fue? A Cuban Journey.

Photo by Ross Taylor

Guillermo “Bill” Vidal stands near his former home in Cuba.

The project—which began in 2016 and included 11 CU ��«��Ƶ students, faculty and staff—brought the group to sites throughout Cuba, where Vidal spent the early part of his life before traveling to America.

“I think it’s a really interesting story, what happened to the children that came out of Cuba and the things they’ve been able to do here in this country as immigrants,” says Mollie Putzig (MJour’16), who served as a videographer for the film. “Guillermo is obviously a shining example of success and hard work that immigrants put into this country.”

The project was a collaboration between the investigative student news program, CU News Corps, and the University of Colorado Denver, where Vidal received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1973. Since its completion, ¿Como Fue? has appeared in 10 film festivals across the country. The film has earned four awards, with the most recent being for Best in Show at the Vero Beach Film Festival in Florida.

In addition to gaining hands-on experience in journalism and documentary filmmaking, students who worked on ¿Como Fue? had a chance to experience life in another country. While filming, the crew stayed with local families who helped give them a sense of Cuban culture.

“On our first afternoon in Havana, we turned the first corner we came to and heard the most amazing, happy salseros playing beautiful music at a cafe,” says Jeff Browne, the film’s executive producer who formerly directed CU News Corps and is now the executive director of Quill and Scroll International Journalism Honor Society at University of Iowa. “Of course we started recording immediately, but that didn’t take away from the sheer pleasure of hearing them play.”

Cuban music was an integral part of the trip. The film’s name was inspired by a favorite song of Vidal’s by the Cuban musician Benny Moré.

After documenting the sounds, sights and people that shaped Vidal’s life—both in the U.S. and in Cuba—the crew returned to ��«��Ƶ to produce the film.

“After you export it, it’s almost like you’ve brought a living thing into the world,” says Emilie Johnson, the film’s director of photography and the media, production and technology manager at CMCI. “It’s not truly living, but it does have a pulse and a purpose. And so, it’s just rewarding to share somebody else’s story.”

An immigrant’s story becomes a cultural journey for CMCI students.

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