Documentary Tells The Stories Of Four Guests At The Living Room Hospice In Kenya

LOS ANGELES - Sept. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- Trailer/video: http://vimeo.com/northprojects/thespacebetween

Los Angeles -- Filmmakers Kimberly Nunez-North and Travis North are currently in post-production on The Space Between documentary, which focuses on the effects of poverty on healthcare in Kenya and the increasing importance of palliative care. The team travelled to Kenya earlier this year to capture the stories of four individuals struggling with life-threatening illnesses, some of them preventable, at the Living Room hospice near Eldoret.

Kenya is one of the poorest nations in the world, with almost half of the country living under the poverty line on less than one dollar a day. Many can’t afford medical treatment so they die alone and in pain. For those who can enter the public hospitals, a painful existence can await them as well: understaffed hospitals with minimal resources and multiple patients sharing a bed. Additionally, many hospitals do not offer palliative care, an area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing patients’ suffering.

The Space Between gives a voice and name to those struggling with life-threatening diseases and conditions. The documentary profiles four guests at The Living Room hospice as well as Living Room founder Juli McGowan Boit, a nurse and HIV volunteer in rural Kenya who was inspired to partner with local leaders to found the hospice.

“We started our journey more than three years ago when a mutual friend introduced me to Juli. We met over coffee and talked about her plans for the hospice. I was truly amazed and moved by her work and her mission to provide comfort for those living with life-threatening illnesses and to give everyone – regardless of their economic situation – the ability to die with dignity. I knew that this was a story that I needed to tell,” stated producer and co-director Kimberly Nunez-North.

While in Kenya, the producing team received unprecedented access to HIV clinics and hospitals. They also filmed in-depth conversations with experts and physicians whose primary focus is on palliative care.  Interviews include Dr. Zipporah Ali, head of Kenya Hospice and Palliative Care Association in Nairobi and the first palliative care doctor in Kenya (and one of only five in the entire country); Dr. Esther Chege Munyoro, coordinator of the Palliative Care Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya; Dr. Joe Mamlin, former field director of AMPATH and one of the original doctors who started HIV/AIDS work in Kenya; and Dr. Greg Gramelspacher, palliative care specialist and professor of medicine at Indiana University who lectures on the topic of palliative care in Kenya.

“This was a truly life-changing project, and we were honored to meet with so many notable physicians, healthcare professionals and educators who have dedicated their careers to raising awareness of and increasing access to palliative care,” noted co-director Travis North. “We look forward to sharing this project with the world.”

The documentary is currently in post-production and recently launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to generate finishing funds, including hiring a professional editor for the final cut, sound mixing and color correction.

Kimberly and Travis established North Projects, a creative production company, in 2006.The duo has successfully worked together as a creative team for more than a decade creating hundreds of hours of innovative content for nonprofit organizations, independent films, documentaries, TV series and studios. Between the pair, they’ve made a notable mark in film, television and the web.

In addition to producing high-quality content, North Projects’ mission focuses on giving back. The company has partnered with several nonprofits over the years to create compelling video content that furthers the mission of the organization. In 2006, North Projects partnered with the Breakthrough Scholarship Fund, a foundation that provides education scholarships to children who live on a landfill in the Philippines. The effort proved successful by raising more than $100,000 in scholarships for more than 60 children. In addition, North Projects has an ongoing relationship with Treasures, an outreach and support group for women in the sex industry. The pair has created several training, promotional and documentary videos for the organization.

In 2012, Kimberly and Travis founded Passion Projects, Inc., a production company dedicated to producing creative content that challenges, inspires and incites change with the intent of shedding light on global social issues, because it matters. Their first project, The Space Between, is documentary that follows the lives of four patients living at a hospice in rural Kenya. The documentary is slated to premiere late 2013.

To view the trailer and fundraising campaign for The Space Between documentary, visit http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/236737/.

About The Space Between:

What medical care could you afford on less than a dollar a day? The Space Between examines poverty and healthcare through the stories of four individuals struggling with life-threatening illnesses in a Kenyan hospice. When underfunded and understaffed hospitals cannot keep up with demand, the Living Room hospice steps in to provide compassion, hope and relief for those who are suffering. The documentary profiles four guests at the Living Room hospice as well as Juli McGowan Boit, a nurse practitioner and HIV volunteer in rural Kenya who was inspired to partner with local leaders to found the hospice.

We profile: Maggie, a young mother who is nearing the end of a long battle with cancer. Her biggest concern is who will care for her four children when she leaves this world. Her husband works 12-hr days for a mere dollar, which forces the children to spend most of their days alone. Jacob, a teacher who was shot and paralyzed during a home robbery. While in an overcrowded hospital receiving care, he developed four life-threatening bedsores. The wounds tunnel so deep they are unable to heal on their own. Barnabas, a grandfather who is dying of throat cancer in a public hospital. Due to lack of morphine, he battles excruciating pain during his final days. His only request is to be able to die at home surrounded by his family, but to return home, his pain must be managed. James, a young man who is suffering from HIV, afraid to start treatment due to social stigmas. The virus has taken over his body, so he is brought to the hospice with the hope of stabilizing his condition.

Project Africa is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas (http://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/), a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Project Africa must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

For more information about The Space Between documentary, and to get involved, please follow on Twitter @SpaceBetweenDoc, “like” on Facebook.com/ourpassionprojects and visitwww.thespacebetweendoc.com.