Based in Washington, DC, USAID is the world’s premier international development agency. USAID works to help improve lives, strengthen communities, and advance democracy. As its website says, “USAID’s work advances […]
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, […]
“A Woman Captured” is an engrossing, maddening film. It bills itself as a story about modern-day slavery, following 52-year-old Marish who finds herself trapped in contemporary Hungary serving a vile […]
When the International Monetary Fund hired Dorst MediaWorks to tell the story of its engagement with the Government in Colombia during the past decade, I was unsure how to tell […]
Sundance is even better than I anticipated. I watched nine documentaries in three days, met a hero of mine, braved the cold, boxed for photos, and soaked up Main Street […]
Because we’re all hard-wired for story, focus on people and their passions first, not on your own programs. It’s been more than 4 years since I first wrote about Kinote, […]
Philip Glass fans, apologies in advance, but his score just ruined a movie that could’ve been great. Arriving at the Palm Springs Film Fest on Friday, I was eager to […]
I’m a lucky man. Yesterday, I got to talk about my two passions–documentary filmmaking and international development–as one of four panelists at the Society for International Development’s (SID) “Storytelling with Data” event in […]
My video production company, Dorst MediaWorks is based in Washington, D.C., where global nonprofits, USAID subcontractors, and multilaterals are competing to do international development better than the next guy. Trump […]
Here in Washington, DC, we have a lot of smart people working to make a difference in international development, and a cluster of global nonprofits, USAID subcontractors, and multilaterals. With […]
In the future when we all look back at our careers, we probably won’t regret taking too many risks. On the contrary, most of us are experts at playing it […]
I flew the DJI Phantom 4 in Dakar, Senegal last week. Over a mosque, through a statue, hovering near curious children. It was a great experience and really elevated […]
Until last month, my best Olympic memory was this: While in college in 1992 I traveled across Europe for a summer. In Barcelona, I splurged on Olympic track and field […]
When I touch down in Sarajevo for a film shoot for a World Bank Group project, I‘m mindful that this Olympic city suffered through the longest siege of a city […]
I’m excited about my company’s new website, which is live this week! It was high time to define Dorst MediaWorks’ mission statement to reflect what we’ve been doing for 14 years: video […]
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 […]
I’m honored to have received a Joint Service Achievement Medal” for “Outstanding “Achievement” for my recent documentary film, JOBS for G.I.s. The honor was a complete surprise. Given by former […]
In December, Doug Gritzmacher and I joined Producer T.J. Cooney for a few days in San Francisco to film a bunch of adults that dress up as superheroes. It was […]
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 […]
This is a behind-the-scenes post for a pro bono video I recently made. It was a total blast! All the boarders I met were really cool. And it was for a […]
I’ve flown the Phantom 2 Vision + in some historical, challenging, and fun locations during the last two months. I wanted to report what I learned—including one harrowing mission in […]
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, […]
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 […]
It’s spring and the sun’s out! Now that I’m more consistent with cycling workouts and eating healthy, that only means one thing: I’m making smoothies! Here’s my favorite: the insanely […]
As I take my first steps on Afghan soil for a 10-day film shoot, I can’t shake the knowledge that the Taliban just launched their spring offensive. I’m walking the gauntlet, a no-man’s-land, […]
Wow, what fun! I really didn’t expect to have such a blast leading a photography workshop for local Afghan staff of a USAID project. I was already on location to […]
I just wrapped a three-country shoot—in Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia—using my new Canon C100 rig for the first time, so I wanted to report on the pros and cons. When […]
Beirut is a complete blast. The people are dynamic, the food crazy good, and in a week I’m all over the country, from the Syrian border in the north to […]
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 […]
Two years ago this month, I got a call from Neil Breslin, an old friend who’s been based in Africa for the past 10 years. “Hey Steve, can you do […]
I went to my 20th college reunion last weekend at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. It was insanely entertaining catching up with people, most of whom I hadn’t seen in […]
I didn’t name it, but it’s spot on. The “OMG WTF” ride is the hardest ride I’ve ever done. It chewed me up and spit me out; put me between […]
Nairobi’s Westgate mall terror had not yet seized headlines when I left Washington, D.C. to direct and shoot a short documentary there. While I’ve been all over central Africa, it […]
What is a favela? When I left Washington DC for a filming trip in Rio de Janeiro last week, I was apprehensive. It was my first trip to Latin America’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
We interrupt this regularly programmed blog on film and video so I can vent about something that I didn’t realize I cared so much about: the bad, boring, blowhard Washington […]
Egypt, for me at least, is not one of those places you can parachute in and feel at home. It’s intense, with its own pronounced contours and customs. A Washington, […]
Every spring here in D.C., the cherry blossoms come out and the city shuts down. I decided to go to the tidal basin for a few hours and take part […]
Seven years ago last month, with both legs dangling out of an old African military helicopter, I trained my film camera down at small dots of racers during the world’s […]
I’m in Cali, Colombia and using my new Canon 5D mark iii to direct and shoot a short documentary film here. Cali-native, Jose David Quintero, is the death-defying biker who […]
When I first got the call, I wasn’t wearing a cowboy hat. It was November 2010. The TV series was called “Survivor Tales.” It was its first year, and more […]
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 […]
It took a day to thaw to write this. On the eve of President’s Day, I’m tipping back single malts with Triathlete Jay, in close proximity to ex-Cat 3 racer […]
I’m thrilled that Shattered Sky is newly available to watch on Hulu! If you have Hulu, it’s free. Just click here. Let me know what you think! The film is also […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Pretty excited today. An article I wrote got picked up by Bloomberg. It’s in Bloomberg’s Sustainability blog, “The Grid.” It’s about my experience interviewing Jim Rogers — the CEO of […]
I launched a petition today calling on our Presidential candidates to talk early and often about their plans for a fair national energy policy and solutions for climate change. This […]
In Chincoteague this week, it’s a perfect time to do some crabbing. These bunker baited our large crab pots, three of which we dropped off the end of our pier. […]
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 […]
It was a great way to celebrate Independence Day: a screening of Shattered Sky at the U.S. State Department on Tuesday. It was an honor, given the history of the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Had a shoot today at the National Institute of Health. Connected with a physician who is an expert on aplastic anemia. Spent some time in his lab. Did an interview. […]
The new documentary film on Martin Luther King, Jr that I worked on recently premieres tonight on DirectTV’s Audience Network. The film is written, directed, and edited by Kirk Mangels. I […]
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 […]
You know, your run-of-the-mill man-on-the-street interviews. Presumably not-too-dumb people. Five questions. Except this time . . . lots and lots of nothin’ !!
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 […]
Everybody knows Hulu’s popular shows: much of the best that networks and cable have on offer. For the price of a burger per month, I could settle down this winter […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Today, I’m shooter, audio grip and . . . set designer and carpenter? Tichoana Mudhobi (“Tich”) is our subject. When we fail to get permission to shoot at the National […]
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, […]
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 […]
Shooting in Zimbabwe means a lot of firsts for me. First time shooting in southern Africa, first time in Zimbabwe. We have a benign, but frequent police presence and […]
Just wrapped day 3 in Baku, which included three interviews and some fun broll about town — 13 hours in all, including a great dinner at Namli Kebap. (By the […]
Despite the fact that I’m a one-man band here in Azerbaijan, I didn’t want to sacrifice quality. I have a local producer/interviewer and a translator, but I’m running camera (EX-1 […]
Coming to Baku to film a short documentary meant checking to make sure that anything I plug in doesn’t blow up like a firecracker. I brought an Arri 1000k light […]
So, here I am with (left) Ilaha Mammadli, a finance journalist from “Trend,” an international news services with offices in Baku. On the right is Rasmina Gurbatova, the film’s director. […]
What comes to mind when you think “Azerbaijan” and “food”? If you’re like me . . . nothing. So, what a surprise to arrive here Sunday and discover . . […]
On the 20th floor deck of the Landmark Hotel in Baku. Filming the hubbub of a city in transition. It’s cold, this “city of wind,” with the Caspian’s expanse so […]
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 […]
Been super busy, in a good way, in post-production for Shattered Sky. New feature indie doc from my co-director Dan Evans and me. Compares ozone issue to the current climate/energy […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
So, with co-producer Dan Evans, I interviewed Bill Becker today for our documentary Shattered Sky. So, should we be calling this crisis “climate change” or “global warming” I asked Becker. […]
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 […]
Google’s Energy team put out a strategy in October called “Google 2030,” which makes a strong case for smart investments in clean energy. Like most everything Google does, it is […]
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 […]
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 […]
In Orange County, CA for some more interviews for Shattered Sky. Talking with journalist Sharon Roan, who wrote Ozone Crisis. Then interviewing Dr. Sherwood Rowland who won a Nobel Prize […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
Got word today that Volcanic Sprint was accepted into the Boulder Adventure Film Festival that goes from November 6-8, 2009.
Today, we started filming in Cincinnati for my film, the Rebirth of Over-the-Rhine. Since co-producer Joe Brinker is back in the country from East Central Europe, our pace has really […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Great time today in sweltering Houston, where a pocket of film-lovers and runners came to a showing of Volcanic Sprint organized by Real Films. The Aurora Theater, an inspired second […]
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 […]
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 […]
Leaving today to attend the fifth annual Jackson Hole Film Festival. Volcanic Sprint is playing there on Friday and Sunday.
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:
Two showings of Volcanic Sprint today at the Boulder Theater. A shade over 200 people came out, and the Q&A’s were awesome — a credit to Boulder’s running community, some […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Well, sometimes the sheer diversity of a workday is kind of fun. I woke up early (still jetlagged from trip to Italy), and edited in the piano music I composed […]
Volcanic Sprint won first-place today in the non-fiction category at the 38th annual USA Film Festival held in Dallas, Texas.
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 […]
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 […]
Volcanic Sprint played at the DC Independent Film Festival today. It was preceded by two other short African-issue films produced by Western filmmakers. Co-producer Dan ducked out at the credits, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I decide to cover as much of the race as possible taking photos. The race starts at 7am at Molyko stadium, and I streak out with the runners to rejoin […]
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 […]
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 […]
Every time I’m in Douala, I’m amazed it functions, what with the cramped streets overflowing with kinetic traffic, pedestrians, and commerce claiming every patch of level earth. Since my last […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Today, we firmed up an international distribution deal with American Public Television Worldwide for Volcanic Sprint. We’re looking forward to seeing which countries they can license it in.
And here’s a nifty slideshow from the Google Picasa photo uploader I just discovered:
Volcanic Sprint won the Showcase Award for Best Outdoor Mountain Activity Film at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival today. The film was also accepted to the Africa World […]
Policy Innovations, the “central address for fairer globalization,” adds me in their network of innovators..
Today, we reached another milestone in the ongoing production of Koppo and Lady B, the documentary I’m co-producing with Louise Mbango. She wrapped a phase of interviews with Koppo, Krotal, […]
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 […]
Today, I received a welcome phone call. We received our first donation for Rebirth of Over-the-Rhine, the documentary film I’m co-producing with Joe Brinker about the renewal of Cincinnati’s urban […]
Today, a Dorst MediaWorks short film launches a debate on climate change and personal responsibility at the Carnegie Council for Ethical International Affairs in New York City. Read more at […]
Today, we get word that Volcanic Sprint was accepted into the 16th Annual Hot Springs International Film Festival. Good times.
Today, we interviewed Bob Watson at the World Bank Group. Coincidentally, this is his last day on the job before he moves back to England to assume three different positions […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The fact that I was up late yesterday drinking single malt and talking politics and real estate with my friend Ron Cathell didn’t douse my enthusiasm early this morning for […]
The plaque in the foyer announces Alcade & Fay. The view out of the 8th story high-rise in Arlington, Virginia is urban. Interviewing Kevin Fay for a short film about […]
At the University of California Irvine today interview Nobel Prize winning scientist Sheri Rowland for the short film we’re making for the Environmental Protection Agency. Rowland was the one who, […]
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 […]
Today in Jacksonville, Florida. I interviewed Lee Thomas, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. This was for a short film for the EPA on the history of the ozone […]
Click To Play The sleepy town of Buea in the Southwest Province of Cameroon hosts Africa’s most grueling footrace: the Mt. Cameroon Race of Hope, a marathon-length sprint 10,000 feet […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Today, I went to the exhibit “Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914-1939” at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. It’s open until July 29, so hurry and check it out. So […]
“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 […]
I was in a color-correction session today for my first documentary feature, Volcanic Sprint, about Africa’s most grueling mountain race. And I noticed something. Before the race begins, the “Queen […]
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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