Seeking Justice in Sierra Leone, the Ukraine and the Philippines

For millions of people around the world, legal justice is beyond their reach. Whether they don’t understand their rights or have no access to legal council, they suffer unduly. The non-profit Namati, with help from the Open Society Foundations, is supporting a movement to build the knowledge and capacity of communities to act on their own behalf. Namati works at the grassroots level to bring laws out of books and courtrooms and into communities.

Talking Eyes Media produced a series of videos for the Open Society Foundations and Namati, highlighting the work of paralegals in Sierra Leone, Ukraine and the Philippines.

To view the full series, visit Namati.

2011 Purpose Prize Winners -- Check 'Em Out!

A Kenyan immigrant who assists Africans adjusting to life in the United States. A CEO who uses personal tragedy to help others. A stay-at-home mom who saves lives in Guatemala. Each of the five winners of the 2011 Purpose Prize is a changemaker, using his or her "retirement" to tackle society's greatest challenges.

Civic Ventures enlisted Talking Eyes Media to help share these stories.

Meet the winners of the 2011 Purpose Prize Award.

Leaves Keep Falling at MTM11

The TEM crew is proud to announce that our film "The Leaves Keep Falling" received the Human Rights Award at this year's Media That Matters Film Festival. Leaves showcased at MTM11 on Thursday, October 27th in NYC, along with the festival's other 12 films.




We want to thank MTM11 for the recognition and for allowing us to be a part of such an inspiring festival. We hope our film will raise awareness about the effects of Agent Orange, highlight solutions, and inspire people to get involved and take action to help heal wounds from a war that won't seem to end.

Visit www.mediathatmattersfest.org/watch/11 to view this year's collection of MTM films, and to
"Screen. Act. Impact."

FIRESTORM screening at IAEMSC summit

On October 30th, FIRESTORM will screen at this year's IAEMSC Annual EMS Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. A lively conversation will follow discussing the overuse of the 9-1-1 system and the impact of hospital closures on EMS.

The Summit will also include updates on other leading policy issues impacting EMS administration and systems, such as the White Paper calling for a federal EMS agency.

To learn more about the EMS White Paper and to endorse its petition, click here. Support TEM, the International Association of EMS Chiefs, and the National EMS Labor Alliance in urging the designation of a lead federal agency for EMS within the Department of Homeland Security.

The Leaves Keep Falling Wins Artivist Award

We're proud to announce that our latest short film, The Leaves Keep Falling, won the Environmental Preservation Award at the 8th Annual Artivist Film Festival. This outstanding festival draws attention to films that raise awareness for international human rights, children's advocacy, environmental preservation, and animal protection. The awards were announced at a screening in Los Angeles in August, and the films will travel to six cities across the U.S., including: Seattle, Sedona, Austin, Atlanta, Washington, DC and Chicago.

Hospitals left with $49 billion in unpaid tabs

A new study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shows that even higher income uninsured families are struggling to meet the high costs of health care.

According to the government report released May 10, 2011 (titled "The Value of Health Insurance: Few of the Uninsured Have Adequate Resources to Pay Potential Hospital Bills"), uninsured Americans (including those with incomes well above the poverty line) leave hospitals with unpaid tabs of up to $49 billion a year. The report states that every year, nearly 2 million uninsured Americans are hospitalized. With 58% of these hospital stays resulting in bills of more than $10,000, most uninsured people are unable to afford potential hospital bills. even the top 10% of uninsured families with the most assets are estimated to be able to pay the full bill for only half of potential hospital stays.

In the HHS press release, the HHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation says "No family should bear the burden of being one illness or accident away from bankruptcy."

To read the HHS Press Release: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/05/20110510a.html

To read the full HHS Study: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2011/ValueofInsurance/rb.shtml

To read the USA Today article about the study: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-05-09-uninsured-unpaid-hospital-bills_n.htm

FIRESTORM nominated for Emmy!

Talking Eyes Media is thrilled to announce that FIRESTORM has been nominated for the 2010-2011 Northern California Emmy Awards! We are honored to be included in the "Documentary" category along with the films OUT. The Glenn Burke Story and The Next Frontier-Engineering the Golden Age of Green.