Filmmakers

Catawampus Films: Our Mission

We at Catawampus Films are committed to environmental justice and providing support for those who have borne the brunt of these disastrous practices. Catawampus Films stands apart from other production companies because we not only document the issues at hand, but also actively seek solutions. through our NGO, La Isla Foundation, and other avenues. By keeping our cameras working so we may add content for our website long after the final cut for The Affected is in the can, we will continue to educate those who take an interest in the plight of The Affected.

We who are privileged enough to afford organics must do more than worry about what we put into our own bodies. By illuminating alternatives that are economically viable and environmentally sound, we enable people to produce and consume food that nourishes instead of poisons. We are working with local and international groups in exploring initiatives that address the needs of the people that have become known as los afectados. It is no longer enough to point fingers; we must expose the issues and enable the cure.

Director’s Statement

"What travel exposes to us to first of all is our own garbage,
flung in the face of humanity."

-Claude Levi-Strauss

The Affected is the voice of a people that have been taken advantage of and abused for far too long. I came to Central America on another project and smelled something rotten emanating from home. As I followed my instincts and then leads I fell in love with the people I encountered whose stories continue to reflect my deepest concerns and fears for the future of our world.
My greatest hope is that this picture facilitates a discussion and empowers the right people to take action and help ensure we at Catawampus Films won't be making another movie about this problem in 10 years. By establishing the NGO, La Isla Foundation, and initiating our plan to document stories from the film and related issues for our websites I hope to do my part to encounter and enable a cure.
The entire crew has had to grapple with some very difficult issues. The practice of contaminating the people and lands on which we rely for our sustenance is fundamentally absurd: food is meant to nourish and ensure survival but in far too many cases the production of these crops destroys the health and even kills outright those who produce and consume them. This process must come to a halt. I believe it can and should be stopped so that we can provide a better future for those that follow us.
Sincerely,
Jason Glaser
May 20, 2008

Jason Glaser, Director & Producer ~

Jason Glaser was educated at Columbia College Chicago where he earned degrees in Cinematography and Photography and has been working on feature films, and TV ever since. In 2007 he and Catawampus Films began work on "The Affected". After encountering the devastating epidemic of kidney failure in Nicaragua he decided that just making a film wasn't enough and, with members of the production team, created La Isla Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the victims, widows, and children that the film documents. Glaser leads workshops in the region on human rights and is in the process of collaborating in the design of a yearlong curriculum for United Nation's University for Peace in San Jose, Costa Rica. Students will focus on solving the challenges that the NGO faces by bringing their education to bear on a real life situation. Jason demonstrated his commitment to the region in September 2007 when he abandoned his research schedule and organized an independent and successful relief effort that saved lives on Nicaragua's Miskito Coast after it was blind-sided by hurricane Felix.

Steven Ware, Director Of Photography ~

Steven Ware began shooting documentaries at 18 in Lansing Michigan. He attended Columbia College Chicago for his degree in Cinematography. He continued learning the craft in New York working in the lighting department for feature films. He shot the short film Girl's Room which has screened at the Cannes, Berlin, and Tribeca Film Festivals. The film My Lover's Moods also went to Cannes in 2007, and New Business was at Slamdance 2008. The Affected is his 3rd feature film, along with Khuda Ke Liye and the documentary Pretty Near Perfect. He lives in Leon, Nicaragua.

Nicole Sherwin, Field Producer ~

Nicole Sherwin began making documentaries in New York City after editing Come Hell Or High Water - an examination of the traumatic psychological effects of Hurricane Katrina. She assisted HIV+ young women to tell their stories for MTV’s Think campaign while producing for Free Speech TV. Sherwin is a founding member of the Green Edge Collaborative, an organization aimed at inspiring action towards a sustainable future. She is currently obtaining her MBA in Sustainable Business Management in San Francisco.

Lisa Wells, Associate Producer ~

Lisa Wells has worked with arts organizations and sustainability focused NGOs as a coordinator, grant writer, and educator for the last ten years. Her creative work has most recently appeared in m.o.n.o., Ecotone, and Poets Against The War. She is currently a the Board of Directors for Myth Media in Portland, Oregon, a Meyer Grant recipient focused on creating cultural change through film.

“The choice, after all, is ours to make. If, having endured much, we have at last asserted our "right to know", and if, knowing, we have concluded that we are being asked to take senseless and frightening risks, then we should no longer accept the counsel of those who tell us that we must fill our world with poisonous chemicals; we should look about and see what other course is open to us.”
-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring 1962