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Canary in a Coal Mine: A film about life with M.E.

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine
WOOHOO!!!! With just shy of 1,000 votes, Canary in a Coal Mine is November's IndieWire Project of the Month. Thank you so much for all of your support!

And I am also so, so grateful for your comments. On the polling page, Christine writes, "This documentary gives my sister and I hope for her future. And when she has already lost so much, having something to hope for is a very big deal."

You give me so much energy and strength and hope, especially on the tough days. Thank you for always reminding me of what we are fighting for.

With this, we'll get to consult with the head of documentary programming at the Tribeca Film Institute!

As Madiba said, "It always seems impossible until it's done."
Canary in a Coal Mine: 60.22% (990 votes) :thumbsup:
 

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Thank you, everyone, for all of your holiday greetings. I am sad and feel a little guilty about my disappearing act, but I am still very much in recovery. I am not yet as well as I was on Octobe...

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Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine
Al Jazeera's America Tonight had an excellent segment about M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). It was a great piece and an excellent show! Youtube gang culture, medical marijuana, the hidden costs of migration (to *migrants*), the word "Myalgic Encephalomyelitis" uttered on US cable television for perhaps the first time in history). What's not to love?

Replay at 12AM ET tonight for those of you who get Al Jazeera America. Video should be online on their website by midday tomorrow.

“Three years ago, Jennifer Brea was an active and adventurous postgrad student. Then she came down with a mysterious disease. Even brushing her teeth was debilitating. She is one of a million Americans who suffer Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (once derided as "yuppie flu"), more than a quarter of whom are unable to work. Tonight we look at the causes of CFS, its intense stigma and why 30 years since it was discovered, there is still no diagnostic test or treatment.”
Photo...
 

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
In Part 1 (2:50), Shiela MacVikar says, “Jennifer has chronic fatigue syndrome, a severe form of myalgic encephalomyeletis.” Oh well...I'm sure that Jen presented her diagnosis the other way around. Part 2 doesn't miss a beat! :thumbsup:

In the full article Nicole Grether writes, "After more than a year of repeated illnesses, infections and doctors not knowing what she had, Brea was finally diagnosed with a severe form of myalgic encephalomyelitis, better known as CFS." Does she mean 'myalgic encephalomyelitis, a severe form of CFS?'

All three pages are accepting comments.
 
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Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Concerning the tone of the closing comment, Jen wrote:
Just to be clear, they also misspelled my husband's name, botched the name of The Paley Center, called me a "postgraduate Ph.D student," got the amount of money we won with the Special Jury Prize wrong.... The process of putting together a segment like this is a cross between telephone and hot potato. A lot can go wrong.
 

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine

TELL AL JAZEERA WHAT YOU THINK
I just wanted to thank everyone for their excellent comments on the Al Jazeera piece: http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/...avethisdebilitatingdiseasewithalousyname.html

We have 13 comments and over 2,000 shares. This is orders of magnitudes greater than most of their segments. Perhaps if we can show the groundswell of support for more stories like this one, we might, in the coming months, pitch a follow-up story on the politics, which are now more important than ever.

So keep sharing and do leave a comment on the page if you are so inspired!

It's also your opportunity to point out any shortcomings in the reporting, or important nuances they may have missed. It's very difficult to tell complex stories on television, but with they 9-10 minute format, it can be a chance to finally get the story straight.
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
I can't get the comments to open on either browser,even when I disable adblock. :(
 

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine
5 hours ago

I have a new project I'm excited to share with y'all. In a few weeks, I launch a new, interactive online show on Google Hangout (the same technology that brought you a conversation with the folks behind the CIACM Kickstarter campaign https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cl63kitkehhifa3u7aok5n8kn7k)

The aim of this show is not only to discuss issues of importance to people living with ME, but to build bridges to other patient communities....

Got any ideas for guests? Topics to explore? And **most important**, suggestions for a name for this new endeavor?
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
From Canary in a Coalmine Facebook page:

I'm thrilled to announce that Canary in a Coal Mine has been chosen as a Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program grantee. We are one of 44 projects selected from over 600 applications from 69 countries around the world.

The Sundance Institute is non-profit organization that provides creative and financial support to filmmakers and independent artists developing original stories for screen and stage. Among its many events, it hosts the Sundance Film Festival each year in Park City, Utah, one of the country's premiere venues for independent film.

With this grant comes the opportunity for a working relationship with Sundance throughout the rest of the production of the film, as well as opportunities to participate in fellowships and workshops with leading filmmakers.

You can read about some of the other projects being supported this cycle. We are in some incredible company! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152331427833515.1073741870.7148723514

We who have been made voiceless and invisible for too long know the power and importance of our story. To change minds in the larger world, however, we must reach beyond our community to inspire and motivate to action an even wider circle of allies. The support of the Sundance Institute will greatly help our efforts to bring Canary to the widest possible audience.

My thanks to all of you for believing in this film. We still have a very long way to go, but I am amazed at how far we have already come, together.

How you can help:

Share this post!

Comment on the announcement on the Sundance website:http://www.sundance.org/blog/entry/...es-1.5-mm-in-grant-support-to-filmmakers-in-/

Like us on the Sundance Institute's Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152331427833515.1073741870.7148723514&type=1

Tweet the Sundance Institute to thank them for their support:https://twitter.com/sundancelabs
 

Sasha

Fine, thank you
Messages
17,863
Location
UK
On the Canary FB page today:

https://www.facebook.com/canaryfilm/posts/490568867747518

Canary in a Coalmine on FB said:
I know many folks have been disappointed by the announcement that CANARY would probably not be available to the public until the first half of 2017. While we know that ours is a story the world needs now, that schedule is absolutely the best and most responsible choice we can make for this film and its future.

The awesome, amazing good news is that Forgotten Plague is nearly finished, is already in private screenings, and will be released to the world the first half of 2015. They are planning a distribution and outreach strategy to achieve maximum impact and I am so excited about the work that film has the potential to do in the world.

Ryan writes that the feedback from early screenings is that the film packs an emotional punch. I can definitely attest to that. I had several jaw wide open, tears streaming down my face, oh my God moments. They've really done a terrific job and I look forward to the opportunities Forgotten Plague will provide over the next two years to share our stories with our families and wider communities, and to challenge broad misconceptions, bring renewed urgency to research, and hopefully, change policy.

My husband, Omar, said of the film it's impossible to walk away without knowing: 1) this disease is real and 2) this disease is serious. So let's support Ryan and Nicole in making sure as many people as possible get to have that experience!

If you missed this update by you should check it out:https://www.facebook.com/CFSDocumentary/posts/861104697253720

While it's a pity that Canary is still a long way off, we must keep in mind that it's being made by a PWME who is very sick indeed. We must be grateful that she's able and willing to do this at all. I'm in constant awe of what she's managing to achieve from her bed. I think she's amazing!

And it will be better for these two films not to be coming out at the same time so that we can give each the boost it needs individually and make the most of the benefits that each will bring.

:thumbsup: