 When
Jane Seymour was nominated by the American Red Cross to their celebrity
cabinet and assigned the measles campaign in Africa, she didn’t take
the honor lightly; she determined to do more than just lend her name to
the humanitarian initiative, she offered to go to Kenya personally to participate.
She and her husband, director/ film maker James Keach, offered to make
a documentary for the Red Cross of this experience, one that would chronicle
not only Jane’s experience but that of 8 Los Angeles School children
as well, who were chosen by the couple to accompany them on this incredible
journey. The result of this effort was “Disease of the Wind’,
a critically acclaimed documentary that won two awards when it was shown
at the Deep Ellum Film Festival in Dallas in November, including audience
choice awards for Best Documentary, as well as the Lionel Rogosin award
for ‘excellence
in execution and spirit for a film that serves to help impact the world
in a positive way through its message.’
Disease
of the Wind is not typical of its genre, it doesn’t seek to leave the viewer with a sense of guilt but rather
of hope. Without shrinking from the harsh reality of life in a place where
so many children die from measles that in some areas "mothers don't
even name their infants until the age of five," the film manages
nevertheless to convey the image of a proud people who as Seymour notes
in the film, “are doing the best they can’. Skillfully
juxtaposing images of malnutritioned infants against those of laughing
children celebrating the arrival of the Americans, Disease of the
Wind seems almost a contradiction in itself. How one wonders can
such joy exist amid such misery? Seymour herself wonders at this
in the film as do the Los Angeles students. The answer she concludes,
lies in the heart of the Kenyan people themselves- in ‘Jackson’ for
instance, a young teen living with 12 other children in one room
whose only goal in life is to finish his education. And in education,
Seymour notes, lies the future and the hope of the African people.
Director
James Keach (who also wrote the documentary) has crafted a film that
not only educates but takes the viewer on an emotional rollercoaster
ride. From the image of Jane Seymour in tears trying desperately
to communicate with ' Grace', a young abandoned child stricken by
the disease, to the smile on a young boy’s face as he is handed
a check to fulfill his life’s dream, Disease of the Wind is
more than a powerful documentary of the measles initiative in Africa,
it is a spiritual journey into the hearts and minds of the people
themselves.-
Mary Ann Marino
Disease
of the Wind wins big at Deep Ellum Film Festival
The making of Disease of the Wind
Highlights
from 'Disease of the Wind'
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How it all began.
Jane is nominated to the Redcross Celebrity Cabinet |
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The value of an education. Meeting
'Jackson"
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Arriving
at a measles vaccination center. "Hard work, hard
play"
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To learn more about the Red Cross measles initiative and how to acquire
this film for your school or organization,visit http://www.measlesinitiative.org/wind.asp
Special thanks to Becky for the
use of her video for this tribute and to James Keach for
his permission to use selected scenes from his documentary. © American
Red Cross |
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