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Launching West Africa Office, Dorst MediaWorks Welcomes Producer Teddy Attila

Dorst MediaWorks just opened an office in West Africa! Cotonou, Benin-based Teddy Attila is leading it. This is part of a longer-term effort to offer local, cost-effective services to our […]

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Who We Work With

Videos for Good. The name says it all. We are a boutique video production studio based in Washington, D.C., traveling the world to tell your story. Our team has been […]

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Vietnam Documentary Videos

One of the benefits of making a video in Vietnam is elbow room. I’m flying Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, reportedly the busiest air traffic route in the world, […]

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Live: Dorst MediaWorks 2016 Reel

Dorst MediaWorks’ new reel, entitled “Development Stories on Five Continents” is now live on YouTube. It includes clips from 15+ countries where I’ve filmed in recent years—every frame here I’ve either […]

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JOBS for G.I.s Now on DirecTV

A year ago today, Doug Gritzmacher and I flew to Los Angeles to start pre-production on a documentary that we pre-sold to DirecTV. The idea: since 9/11, more than 2 […]

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Directing for Red Bull in Hong Kong

This shrimp chorizo burger in Hong Kong’s K-Town Bar and Grill in Kennedy Town was $28. Yowza! I’m used to traveling the world to make videos for international development organizations, […]

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St. George Slays the Injera

If you’re a butcher, don’t open up shop in Ethiopia—the country is fasting. For most, this means not eating meat or dairy. They fast for Lent, which seems to go […]

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Mandela, Cameroon, and me

When I arrived in Yaoundé, Cameroon on September 15, 1994 for a scholarship year, His Excellency Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela had been President for four months. As South Africa’s first black […]

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Directing “Saving Sally”

They say there’s freedom in structure. But how do you tell a story that spans 20 years in a traditional 60-second commercial spot? That was my challenge when Paul McKellips, President […]

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Winning the Air Force Challenge Ride

The 2013 Air Force Cycling Classic Challenge Ride had 1,408 people this year—a fun mix of both avid and recreational cyclists. This was my fourth year. Previously, I’d always bonked at […]

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Note by Note — Great doc

Yesterday, I watched a doc while riding my bike trainer inside. As both a piano player and a filmmaker, I have to admit that “Note by Note: The Making of Steinway […]

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Happy New Year!

Really excited for 2013. Bench to Bedside, the new TV series that I’ve been DPing and editing for the past two years, was acquired by Australia Broadcasting Corporation for global […]

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Mecánico as Film Crew?

Delfino’s a cypher. I’m riding shotgun with this 40-something Mexican, camera in my lap, finished filming for the day in Mexico City. Delfino’s on about some subtle details of a […]

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Repairing the Shattered Sky

I wanted to share a great follow-up to my Bloomberg article last week. Policy Innovations, a publication of the Carnegie Council, ran a Q&A with me entitled Repairing the Shattered Sky. Editor Evan […]

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A Dose of Inspiration

Sometimes all it takes is a 7-year old on a moped to remind you why life is so awesome! Here’s a sneak peak from another episode of this new TV […]

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Perspectives on 500,000

Less than three months to go until the nationwide public TV premiere of Shattered Sky. I’m excited about the chance to make a difference. I’m hoping enough people get wind […]

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Shattered Sky: A Whirlwind of Good

Since the March 22 premiere of Shattered Sky at the DC Environmental Film Festival, it’s been a whirlwind of good: NY Times coverage and lots of contacts with festivals, colleges, and activists who […]

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Respects, Dr. Rowland

I was all set to write something today about how we just got our 400,000th fan on the Shattered Sky FB page, before our film festival premiere later this month, when […]

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MLK Day & A New Memorial

It was cold and bright today at the MLK Memorial on the Mall in DC. Lots of people cycled through inspirational quotes, craned their necks up at the towering stone likeness, and […]

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A Desert Ride

The first time I rode with the Desert Cycling Club, the elites dropped me like a bad habit. But today, I was hoping to keep up on the money stretch […]

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Storytelling, at a Crossroads

Do you know a good storyteller? She’s the life of the party. The one who gets everybody rip-rolling, turns us deathly silent, then provokes a tear or two. We gather […]

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Jane Goodall LIVE

Today was the second time I filmed Dr. Jane Goodall recently for an upcoming movie, and each time she has taken me off guard (in a good way) with an […]

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Life is Precious

Today, I interview and shadow Precious Ncube. She’s 23 and carries herself with a quiet confidence, wielding an easy smile. She also is HIV positive, has lost both her mother […]

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The Boys . . .

I’m in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second city. Today, I’m spending time with four boys that have benefited from being part of Catholic Relief Service’s programs here. At first, they are reticent, […]

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One Hundred Trillion Dollars

My client, Catholic Relief Services, has a few expats but overwhelmingly local hires. These Zimbabweans work long hours and face huge obstacles. In a difficult political situation, the economy crashed […]

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Welcome to Baku!

Baku is a big city with a tiny airport. I’ve landed in Azerbaijan, a country with about 9 million people — 4 million of whom are jammed into this cosmopolitan […]

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Nilles: Coal and Energy Choice

So, today Dan Evans and I interviewed Bruce Nilles for our film on climate change, Shattered Sky. Nilles is the Sierra Club’s National Coal Campaign Director. He’s pretty focused on […]

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Harlem for Earth Institute

“We the rich are literally dumping on the poor,” said Lisa Sharper today while I was interviewing her for a short film that documents eco-hazards and eco-opportunities in Harlem. Sharper’s […]

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Lovins: No Regrets Action!

Interviewed Hunter Lovins today for our climate change documentary Shattered Sky. Who is not jazzed and encouraged after talking with Lovins?! She advocates action toward clean energy and reducing CO2 […]

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Carbon Age Over Tandoori Chicken

So, I’m eating lunch at my favorite local Indian place with my friend Eric Roston today. Roston’s the author of The Carbon Age, a brilliant, definitive book about carbon as […]

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Bob Watson and the IPCC

Interviewed Bob Watson today for Shattered Sky. In my opinion, if you have to pick one person in the world today who contributed most to science informing international policy, it’s […]

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Wrapped Another 13 interviews

Finished another 13 interviews for Shattered Sky, our film that parallels the ozone issue with climate change, with a mind to advance progress on climate. Taking a week break, then […]

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Studio shoot @ Interface

Did a long studio shoot last night at Interface. Directed a crew of 11 people, and had about 15 actors. The Interface crew was great to work with.

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Jane Goodall Memories

My friend Michael Aisner invited me to come film Jane Goodall tonight. They’ve been friends for some 25 years, and he got his hands on some old super-8 footage of […]

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Kiva: Direct Development

As a documentary filmmaker, I know what it’s like to have a vision and passion — and then have to go out and raise funds to help me make progress […]

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USAID: Global Development Commons

Wrapped a short film for USAID today. It focused on the Global Development Commons, which is what they call a their new approach to development aid that has improved information […]

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World Bank Film Wrapped

I wrapped another short film project for the World Bank today. Really fascinating, and challenging job for the Global Development Learning Network. I directed remote crews in Tanzania, Mongolia, Japan, […]

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Volcanic Sprint selling abroad

This past month, Volcanic Sprint has sold to Al Jazeera (to be subtitled in Arabic and played throughout the Middle East, Outdoor Life Network in Canada, and a program in […]

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AmeriCares film wrapped

Finished a film today for AmeriCares, the international relief organization. Very interesting project they have based in Vietnam that is providing nutritional supplementation and mobile care clinics. In telling that […]

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Crisis Group Film Wrapped

Wrapped a film today for the International Crisis Group, which is a group that works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. Featuring a slew of experts, including Madeleine Albright, Louise […]

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Jackson Hole Film Fest Rocks!

I have to admit that this film festival is killer! Not only did the programmers get some amazing films here, but all the organizers are relentlessly nice, and have created […]

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Mt. Cameroon Race 2008

This is a little photo montage of the 2008 Mt Cameroon Race that we had on loop before yesterday’s showing of Volcanic Sprint at the Boulder Theater:

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Boulder Theater !

Outside Boulder’s historic theater, on the left with the guys that made it happen: mover and shaker Craig Mintzlaff, principal of Endurance Sports Marketing; Justin Perkins, the glue that kept […]

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Hitting the streets

Free day today to enjoy Boulder and try to drum up interest in Volcanic Sprint, which is playing tomorrow at the Boulder Theater. So I fill a backpack full of […]

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Bolder Boulder – Volcanic Sprint

So I arrived yesterday in Boulder, Colorado, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite cities. Precipitous mountains hem in a kelly-green valley; smart growth has yielded wide pedestrian walkways, […]

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Southeast to a Senator

Today, wrapped shooting for a new film for Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School in Washington’s Ward 8 in Southeast. Highlights were: standing on my car directing an ebullient […]

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Mayor to General

Today, two interviews with very interesting former public officials. For a gala video for Thurgood Marshall Academy, we filmed former Mayor Tony Williams, who spoke about how nurturing such an […]

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Armitage Straight-Talker

Today we launched production for a new short film for the International Crisis Group. This group is one of the most important conflict-resolution outfits in the world, fiercely non-partisan, highly […]

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Change of Pace

Today, we wrapped production on a two-day commercial shoot for Cernium, a video analytics firm based in Reston, VA. It was a fun change of pace, where I directed a […]

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Dibusse on Volcanic Sprint

My favorite Cameroonian blogger covers Volcanic Sprint: Mount Cameroon Race: “Volcanic Sprint” Now Available on DVD. Other media coverage: Cameroon: The Race – Down Memory Lane from the Buea Post […]

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Atop Mt Cameroon

Spending so much time with Volcanic Sprint had bred a familiarity that ultimately made the mountain race seem pretty accessible to me. Wow, was I in for a shock! The […]

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The Eyes of Children

Almost as soon as I finished Volcanic Sprint last year, I imagined having a public viewing where we shot in — in Buea, Cameroon. It would need to be free […]

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Where Are They Now?

It’s Saturday, the day before the race. Call time is pre-dawn. It’s a familiar ride in the bed of the pickup up Buea’s main drag, which traverses Mt. Cameroon’s southern […]

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Cameroon Landed

After an interminable series of flights from San Francisco to Atlanta to Paris to Douala, Dan and I emerge on the hot afternoon tarmac of Douala airport. It’s the dry […]

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Houston Chronicle Covers Volcanic Sprint

In <a href='http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4513616‘>”Marathon a rugged climb / Film documents race up volcanic mountain in Africa,” Houston Chronicle journalist Roberta MacInnis writes about the Mt. Cameroon Race, Volcanic Sprint, and our […]

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Mt Cameroon Race of Hope 2008

Off to Buea, Cameroon today for the 2008 Mt Cameroon Race. San Francisco to Atlanta to Paris to Douala. The trip is packed: Friday the Cameroon premier of Volcanic Sprint, […]

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Always a Statesman

At Stanford. Interviewed George Shultz today for the independent documentary I’m producing, SHATTERED SKY. I was really hoping to link some of the lessons of the fight to save the […]

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Boulder viewing party

In Boulder Colorado today for a viewing party for VOLCANIC SPRINT at the house of Michael Ainsley. He assembled about 15 of his friends and acquaintances that he thought could […]

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Montreal Protocol Film Wraps

Dorst MediaWorks finished our film for the Environmental Protection Agency today. “Montreal Protocol: 20 Years of Global Collaboration” will play at an event in Canada in a few weeks celebrating […]

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A Video Code of Conduct

Policy Innovations blogs a summary of Steve Dorst’s presentation at a gathering of international nonprofits in Washington DC: “Steve Dorst of Dorst MediaWorks followed Daub with a presentation A Video […]

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“Jesus Camp” Rocks

So I watched Jesus Camp tonight. Pretty amazing documentary. It is strongest when it simply allows the children to live and voice their beliefs, and their parents and mentors to […]

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Linking Ozone and Climate

If you can get a job you like in Boulder, Colorado then run—don’t walk—to accept it. Driving into the city is not only absolutely beautiful, but also a lesson in […]

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Nobel #2: Working for good

At the University of California at San Diego with Dan Evans to interview Professor Mario Molina. This is my second interview of a Nobel Laureate in a month, so I’m […]

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From Frank Lloyd Wright to Tokyo

I’m in Racine, Wisconsin today. Interviewing Scott Johnson from S.C. Johnson . Johnson is not from the dynasty of owner Johnsons, but he gives a great interview about the environmental […]

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Transamerica through a Veil

So Dan and I are on location in San Francisco today making a short film about the ozone layer for the Environmental Protection Agency. We interviewed Bill Reilly, former EPA […]

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Goldman Environmental Prize

I went to the ceremony and reception for the world’s most lucrative prize for environmental activism tonight at the National Geographic Society. The Goldman Environmental Prize gave $125k to each […]

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Shut Up and Sing

I went to see Shut Up & Sing by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple tonight at a slam-packed Avalon Theater. The film was entertaining. Most impressive was the lead singer, […]

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Encountering Cincinnati’s First Citizen

Friday in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine is a flurry of life, as documentary research leads me to politicians, ex-con weightlifters, millionaire arts patrons, and a cabal of partying idealists. First, friend and […]

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Cincinnati’s Urban Core

I arrive in Cincinnati today for a five-day pre-production trip for a new documentary, tentatively entitled Rebirth of Over-the-Rhine. My co-producer Joe Brinker has arranged a slew of meetings. My […]

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Bismarck on the Mountaintop

“What’s African about this volcano summit?” I was asking myself in a sound-design session today for my documentary film, Volcanic Sprint. Our footage was extreme up on the summit of […]

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Convenient Proof

What better time to inaugurate this commentary at the crossroads of documentary film and international relations than the day after the Oscars. And finally a documentary that moved people as […]

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