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Short films shot in Miami Valley

Oakwood and Englewood are included in short works about health care.

By Terry Morris, Staff Writer 8:19 PM Friday, November 13, 2009

Ralph Helm’s faith that the Miami Valley would be a good place to shoot four short films dealing with the national health insurance system has been rewarded.

The head of Dayton-based Level Three Media and co-director Julie Brinley of Burbank, Calif., teamed up in October to work on the project.

“We knew it would be cheaper to shoot here. The logistics of planning, permits and insurance were all easy. The communities where we worked, including Oakwood and Englewood, were very open to our crews,” said Helm, 37. “The film community here is fantastic.”

Using actors and crews hired locally and in the Cincinnati area, they completed filming in just nine days.

The goal is to “attach real faces and personalities to the health issues,” Helm said. “Everyone can probably agree there is a problem with the system and that people do fall through the cracks. The next step is to do something about it.”

The next question for the co-directors “is whether to shop the films individually, or as a series. We would like to get them into film festivals this winter and next spring. We would like to have the premiere in Dayton. Our top goal is to get them into the South by Southwest Film Festival next spring in Austin,” he said. “We also hope to attract more investors to fund the rest of production.”

Helm said their intent was never to choose sides in the health-care debate, but “to strike a chord by showing people something they can relate to. Virtually everyone knows someone, has a friend or family member who is going through a situation like one of those we show.”

Here are the synopses of the four films:

“Words”: “While a young boy is struggling against cancer, his mother is struggling against her son being just a string of words in the health-care system.”

“Time”: “Instead of enjoying the retirement he worked toward his whole life, an elderly man loses his pension and extended health-care coverage, returning to work in order to pay for his wife’s prescriptions.”

“Recovery”: “A newlywed couple is hit by an uninsured texting driver and must deal with the aftermath, including physical and financial recovery.”

“Remission”: “A father copes with the return of his wife’s cancer and the family’s uncertain future.”

More about the Health Care Film Project is available at (937) 470-2342 and at www.flickr.com/photos/level-3-media/sets/72157622631241678.

DaytonDailyNews. com/go/health

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D. Greene, I have personally had comment sections shut down on Middletown Journal after I commented, because it was the truth, it was too real for people to handle, or it offended the writing staff. I don't care what they think, they deliver the news, we deliver the opinions. End of story.

check out middletownusa.com they won't take your comments down and you can upload your own important info and news about this area, not just Middletown.

mdizzie
4:28 PM, 11/15/2009

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Joker has a good point though, which is that the DDN does a crap job of covering positive, interesting things in dayton, instead we just get to read story after story of hood rats shooting each other or murdering their toddlers.

and what's the deal with comments on this website? it seems completely random which stories people are allowed to comment on. this just confirms what we already know: the dayton daily news disdains its audience.

D. Greene
5:59 AM, 11/15/2009

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There was quite a bit of coverage of that film when it played in Dayton -- six months ago.

Eve
12:40 AM, 11/15/2009

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Actually, Joker, shouldn't we all be supportive of the fact that there is a thriving film community bubbling up in the Miami Valley region. Seems more productive to encourage people who are making films in this area than to tear another filmmaker down just because he's getting press and another filmmaker isn't.

Film Supporter
11:44 PM, 11/14/2009

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It's a shame that you cover things like these videos pertaining to healthcare but nowhere have I seen coverage of the documentary '45365' made by the Ross brothers from Sidney. The documentary has been taking top honors at all kinds of film festivals, incluing SXSW.

www.45365movie.com

Joker
3:00 PM, 11/14/2009

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