On behalf of Grain Media, looked after overall publicity for Orlando von Einsiedel’s global water crisis-themed short film Into Dust, about the slain Pakistani social activist Perween Rahman - a project that encompassed on-set production publicity and festivals strategy, a soft-launch SXSW panel discussion and publicity for the global roll out of the project and its social impact campaign.

Having started as an assignment to garner publicity for its screenings at festivals such as the London Short Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana and the International Changing Perspectives Short Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey - I worked with the filmmakers of the short documentary Kofi and Lartey to raise the awareness and impact of their film, ultimately achieving a What We’re Watching mention in The Guardian’s Global Dispatch.

Directed by Sasha Rainbow, the film tells the story of two inseparable young boys, Kofi and Lartey, who work on the electronic waste dump of Agbogbloshie, Ghana, dubbed one of the most toxic places on earth. When given the tools (cameras!) to tell their own stories, they begin to dream of a life beyond the electronic waste dump and back into education.

The filmmakers were in need of strategic guidance on how to move their social impact plans forward and I worked with them to develop a presentation pack for academics, influencers and potential partners - as well as creating outreach materials and devising the concept of taking 20 little known facts about Agbogbloshie and turning them into relevant social media posts.

I liaised with an American art gallery preparing to launch a climate change photo exhibit to screen the film as part of the exhibition and that led to a subsequent screening at the Southwest Environmental Center in New Mexico. Finally, on behalf of the film, I reached out to the UK’s leading academics in the field of electronic waste management at Universities in Cambridge, Northampton and Lancaster, initiating a dialogue for future engagement with the film and collaboration.

As Oxfam's Artist Liaison manager, tasked with aligning celebrities & high profile individuals to important appeals, causes & campaigns, such as the #stopthespread social media campaign to raise funds for Oxfam's Ebola outbreak work.

In 2000, I read a feature in New Yorker magazine on Dr. Paul Farmer, an incredible doctor, human being and humanitarian - and the article (and Dr. Farmer) touched me so profoundly that I tore the article from the magazine and I have kept it ever since. He was a hero to me. An example of the kind of man I wanted to know, the kind of person I strived to be. I never, ever in my wildest dreams thought I'd ever have the occasion or chance to meet him or be in the same space with him. And yet here we are - at the premiere of the documentary "Bending the Arc" about the formation of Partners in Health - with me working the press line in my profession as a film publicist. Never would I have thought that my job would put me in the path of Dr. Paul Farmer - but I was so honoured, grateful and elated to have that opportunity. He's exactly as kind and gentle as you would imagine. A real legend. Life can be magic, dreams can come true. Even with life's ups and downs, it has shown me that again and again.

You can read the original article that introduced me to the work of Dr. Paul Farmer in the New Yorker's archives:  http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/07/10/the-good-doctor-2

For more information on Partners in Health and to support their work, check out their website:  http://www.pih.org

For more information on "Bending the Arc", please see: https://www.sundance.org/projects/bending-the-arc

Also, there's this great video on the discussion "Empathetic Storytelling and the Moral Imagination" which features Dr. Paul Farmer, as well as the producer of "Bending the Arc" Cori Shepherd Stern. A description: 

Today’s most creative social entrepreneurs and storytellers harness the power of their imagination to invoke a moral universe. Fueled by an ethical imperative, these changemakers employ the tools of empathetic storytelling and new immersive experiences to drive social change. This session explores the role moral imagination plays in realizing a world of peace, justice, and sustainable prosperity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHeFzj2psjk

Images from travels and adventures, the incredible women, children and people in general that I've had the privilege to meet on this journey. From work trips to volunteering and everything in between.