Dispatch 02
Dear Friends,
Welcome to The Strata, a bi-weekly newsletter that tells a serialized story about my filmmaking process and updates you on the Impact Campaign for my first feature film.
The following is a continuation of Dispatch 01, which ended with:
I am filming with fossil hunters in Kansas. After hearing my story, they agree, unanimously, that I must call my dad.
Dispatch 02: Tools of the Trade
My filmmaking tools are extensions of my body. I lug them up hills, past thresholds, and into peoples’ lives.
On good days, my subjects forget about the camera. To get to that point, I must first build trust by spending quality time together and trading stories. I love this part of filmmaking, the part that nobody sees.
But calling my dad? That feels impossible. We haven’t spoken in years.
My dad would never come out to see the Kansan marine fossils. A young-earth creationist, he believes that the earth is 10,000 years old, and that a fish fossil found in any land-locked region is proof that Noah’s Flood was real.
I used to believe that, too. But once you’ve grasped geologic time, you can’t unsee it.
It occurs to me that I might have gathered enough evidence to convince my dad on evolution. Maybe he’d listen to me. I use a phone recording app to call. The reception is lousy, but we get to talking. His voice is warmer than I remember, and he sounds happy to hear from me, as if we’d never had a disagreement about anything at all.
I steer clear of religion, politics, and my mother. I stick to evolution v. creationism, a topic he and I are both passionate about.
Months later, Dad and I are talking all the time, sometimes for hours at a stretch.
But he has not come around. My inquiries have reignited his interest in creationism. He’s started researching conferences. He’s bought me a DVD set on intelligent design that he’s popped in the mail.
We are talking again, Dad and I, and he is more convinced than ever that he is right.
It is lovely, and it is driving me insane.
I might need a different tactic.
To be continued in the next dispatch.
Impact Campaign
Our Impact Campaign is using screenings, workshops, and events to help and hold space for those affected by persistent divisions in their lives.
We are inspired every day as we connect with incredible organizations that are working in the following areas:
Family estrangement
Religious divides, including faith-based v. scientific worldviews
The Bridging Community, which targets political polarization, and aims to strengthen civic life, such as the National Week of Conversation April 6-12.
If you or someone you know is connected to communities working in these areas, please reach out here.
Recent Flood Screenings
At Big Sky with EP Nico Opper & DP Nate Truesdell, who also pitched and screened his latest short film, A Derailment.
The incredible Courtney B. Cook moderated our Q&A, and I forgot to take more than a selfie at Big Sky High School, where I spoke to a class. Loved hanging with Colleen Thurston, Jannet Nuñez, and the I Think About Birds team Johanna Gustin & Jonathan Gustin. Below, a snippet of my interview with news anchor Ben Wineman:
One World in Prague is the world’s largest human rights film festival. Here’s a snippet of an IG post we filmed at the National Museum:
Programmer Lea Petrikova and our Czech translator made the experience meaningful!
Upcoming Flood Screenings
DCTV - NYC theatrical premiere - June 19-25, which includes Father’s Day Weekend
Jacob Burns Film Center - Pleasantville, NY - date TBD
Independent Lens - Nationwide PBS premiere - July 13
Other News
My first published column, “What’s in My Bag,” appears in the Spring 2026 edition of Documentary Magazine. Available in print and, soon, online. You can also purchase the gorgeous Winter 2026 edition featuring Brittany Shyne!
