The Producers care deeply about the safety and privacy of all involved in the production of this medical research documentary. All patients depicted in our film have provided consent to participate and disclose their health information.
Objective: Research presented using the medium of film can command attention and resonate emotionally in a way difficult for academic text. We understand the power of visual language to convey ideas and emotions too complex and nuanced for other mediums. Education and healthcare are the two most important social issues of our time and we hope to weave a rich tapestry of motifs and pathos in order to tell timely stories impacting people right now. By sifting through the latest research, we want to deliver hopeful, helpful, extensive, and actionable information to all parties engaged in the discussion. Our exploration of the link between paraquat and Parkinson’s will be told by a mosaic of characters in an effort to examine the cultural and biopsychosocial landscape of a region I grew up in. By interviewing physician-scientists, farmworkers, epidemiologists, lawyers, physical and speech therapists, landowners, politicians, corporate executives, police officers, college professors, caretakers, and pesticide applicators with differing views and stakes in the issue, we hope to illustrate the variety of perspectives represented in a balanced, fair, and scientific manner. We want to communicate the authenticity of real people grappling with real tragedies by inviting the audience to experience what PD means to normal, everyday Americans.
Important COVID-19 Update: Due to the health sensitivities of the film's subject matter, production is halted until national lockdown restrictions are lifted
Important COVID-19 Update: Due to the health sensitivities of the film's subject matter, production is halted until national lockdown restrictions are lifted
Long considered exclusively an ailment accompanying advanced age, science now definitely shows Parkinson's disease has an environmental cause. We look at how the overuse of pesticides exacts a heavy neurological toll on farmers and families in the Central Valley.
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A GLOBAL HEALTH CONCERN RIGHT IN OUR BACKYARD
Some of the highest rates of Parkinson's disease (PD) occur in the Pacific island of Guam, where natives feast on a bat-like creature known to gorge on neurotoxic cycad seeds; in the Parsi community of Bombay, India, due to the poisoning effects from the burning of Aspand required by a Zoroastrian ritual to rid “evil eye” in babies; and also in our agriculturally intense hometown of Fresno, California.
Epidemiological studies suggest that environmental toxicants such as certain pesticides, herbicides, and other pollutants are associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD). We explore the complicated intersection between agriculture, industry, neuroepidemiology, and society through interviews with pioneering researchers like Caroline Tanner, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and others who are devoting their lives to investigate
Who we areFounded by Arjan Singh and Taylor Nii, Myelinated Films is an independent film production startup devoted to empowering the informationally disadvantaged electorate with rigorously fact-checked cinematic documentaries |
What our themes are Community health, health equity, the environment, sustainable practices, and compassion for our natural world. The film tells a human story that raises a fundamental question about environmental loss. |
Our goalWe question the long term consequences of pesticide application and its impact on an individual's and the community's health. Yet, we are hopeful; we champion the everyday people who make it their mission to stop the domino effect of industrialization and try to build a better future for the world around us |
In 2009, Dr. Tanner and colleagues conducted a case–control study to investigate whether specific occupations or toxicant exposures were associated with parkinsonism. They found that 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was associated with a greater than twofold increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. This chemical was introduced as an herbicide in 1945 and is found in more than 1,500 products, including Agent Orange, which the US military used as a defoliant in Vietnam. Parkinson’s disease is considered to be service-connected in certain US military veterans who served in Vietnam. Currently, 2,4-D is used on lawns, golf courses, and large farms.
OUR GOALParaquat is banned in 38 countries because science has shown it can cause Parkinson's disease. Why is it still available in America? |
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