Olaf’s Underdogs wasn’t easy to make. I had to overcome so many hurdles, both personally and professionally. There were a thousand times I wanted to give up. When I wanted to say, I’ve done all I could do. But, I never did. One, when I make a commitment, I follow through - hell or high water. But more importantly, the people, organizations, and animals in this documentary deserve to be recognized. Or in some cases, the people and organizations in this film deserve to be called out. Silence is compliance, and when I saw what was happening to our homeless dogs in Western TN, I couldn’t stay silent any longer. So sit back and click here to watch the most important story I’ve ever told. Olaf’s Underdogs.
P.S. I want to give a HUGE thank you to Lauren Adams. If it wasn’t for her unbelievable editing skills, I would never have been able to complete this project. Hands down, she’s the coolest, most talented editor I’ve ever had the honor to work with. It was the just the two of us but we did it, and I am forever grateful.
Olaf’s Underdogs: Coming July 1
Amber’s Halfway Home
Emmy-Nominated Documentary
Holy Poop! Amber’s Halfway Home got nominated for an Emmy! I can’t tell you how much this means to Farnival Films. When we first started this project, I asked Mason and Pidge on multiple occasions, what the f**k am I doing? I’m a storyteller not a filmmaker. Sure, I had produced shorts in the past, but never anything this big. This important. Or this cheap, so cheap we packed our lunches on shoot days. And the stakes were high. Our subject matter was about saving lives. Saving DOGS’ lives.
Amber’s Building: Mixing Creativity and Social Activism
Several years ago, I started mixing social activism into my creative work. First, I blogged about fostering dogs in the rural South, then I wrote a book called Catching Dawn about what happens to strays in my neighborhood. Both were rewarding for different reasons, but I never saw any substantial change. Until now. Until we produced a documentary about Amber Reynolds, a warrior battling on the front lines of the animal overpopulation problem in Western TN .
Y’all…my first interview about Catching Dawn. I was so nervous but Kaila Burns-Heffner was so good she even made me feel comfortable. I’m forever grateful.
What would you do to save a life?
Night delivers a litter of eight puppies in a poor neighborhood in Springfield, Tennessee the week before Melissa Armstrong meets her. As a volunteer for a local nonprofit, Melissa has experience with strays and plans to rescue Night and her litter within days. But nothing goes as planned…
Farnival Stories
Activism
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I’ve had several people ask how Catching Dawn (my first book!) got published. It wasn’t easy. Agents and publishing companies want someone with a writing resume or an established platform. I didn’t have either. But, what I did have was a dream, tough skin, and a message.