Maitri River Productions is releasing a documentary film entitled CrowdSource for Life. The Dallas-based film and television production company recently announced the casting of seventeen living kidney donors for a narrative non-fiction documentary, including Chicago residents Laurie Lee, Bethany and Hannah Goralski and Hammond, Indiana resident Helaynia Walker.
DALLAS, Aug. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Chicago residents Laurie Lee, Bethany and Hannah Goralski and Hammond, Indiana resident Helaynia Walker have been cast in Maitri River Productions' documentary film CrowdSource for Life. The Dallas-based film and television production company announced the casting of seventeen living kidney donors for a narrative non-fiction documentary. Lee and the Goralski sisters donated their kidneys to strangers at Northwestern Medicine's Comprehensive Transplant Center (NMTAC). They made the decision to donate after their dads received successful organ transplants at NMTAC just days apart. The Goralski sisters and Lee met on the transplant floor of the hospital while their fathers were walking laps post-surgery. Walker donated her kidney to a stranger in a kidney swap at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
"We get amazing and unique content from non-directed kidney donors," stated Donald Griswold, CrowdSource for Life's director and executive producer. "Science considers them to be our society's most extreme altruists. Because of the rare nature of their giving, these living kidney donors like Laurie take us on a deep unexpected dive into what it really means to give. CrowdSource for Life isn't a documentary about living kidney donation; it's about the human experiences that come with giving."
The film's cast of living kidney donors will work with Chicago's 2nd Story theatre company and producers from Maitri River Productions to develop their experiences with living kidney donation into monologues. The storytelling monologues will be performed before a live theatre audience in Dallas, Texas, where the production will be recorded live for the feature film, CrowdSource for Life.
"Every organ donation story is different, and that is reflected in our cast," said Lee, who is also a CrowdSource for Life producer. "We have seventeen completely different takes on the process, the effects, and the experience of giving. There is something in this show for everyone."
Lee also points out the importance of diversity on the cast. "There is an unfortunate racial disparity in the world of kidney transplant and donation. White people are four times more likely to receive a kidney transplant than Black people, despite the equity assured once you're listed on the kidney transplant list." CrowdSource for Life's cast is diverse both culturally and racially, which industry experts expect will expand the conversation about living kidney donation into many communities.
CrowdSource for Life will be released directly to numerous streaming services. Ned Brooks, founder of The National Kidney Donation Organization described CrowdSource for Life as, "… an extraordinary opportunity to increase the awareness of kidney disease and the benefits of living kidney donation." Numerous kidney transplant and donation organizations have joined the effort to raise the film's $300,000 production budget. Transplant Village, Organ Transplant Support, Kidney Donor Conversations and PKD Outreach Foundation have all contributed, together with private individual donors, to raise more than $190,000 for the film's production in just a few months. Tax deductible donations to CrowdSource for Life can be made at https://crowdsourceforlife.com.
Media Contact
Laurie Lee, Transplant Village, 1 312-927-7655, [email protected]
SOURCE CrowdSource for Life
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