* Personal Testimonials Sent In By Meniere's Patients
Imagine not being able to move because everything around you is spinning so badly you can't tell if you are standing or lying down. Try to get through a day, a week, or a month with a continual, high-pitched ringing in your ear, or worse yet, losing your hearing altogether. Picture yourself walking down the street or driving a car, then suddenly collapsing. Envision losing your job or getting divorced because you are unable to participate in the day-to-day activities of your life.
Would you be able to go through this without a support system because your friends, colleagues, and loved ones don't understand what it is like to live with the chronic, incurable and debilitating illness known as Meniere’s (men-years) Disease? Meniere's is a vestibular disorder that significantly impairs daily living through violent bouts of vertigo, dramatic hearing loss, excruiatingly loud tinnitus, and painful ear pressure — leaving sufferers feeling isolated and abandoned.Unheard: The Ears of Meniere’s documentary examines this devastating condition, finally giving a voice to millions.
Often, as is the case with many 'invisible' illnesses, people can't understand why someone who looks healthy can be so incapacitated. Because of the lack of awareness and understanding of Meniere’s, patients are thrust into the role of educator — they must teach themselves, their family, and sometimes even their health care professionals about the disorder and how it impacts them. Unheard: The Ears of Meniere’s is here to help.
The documentary will bring Meniere’s into the public consciousness through personal testimonials from Meniere's Warriors (including author/tech evangelist Guy Kawasaki and famed painter Vincent van Gogh) along with creative camera work and sound design that will simulate its symptoms so the audience directly experiences how physically debilitating the condition can be.
Neurotologists Dr. Sujana Chandrasekhar(President, American Otological Society) and Dr. Kevin Peng (The House Institute Foundation) will provide the most up-to-date medical information.
The producer-director of Unheard:The Ears of Meniere’s, a veteran film and television executive, was diagnosed with Meniere’s ten years ago and is committed to developing a thoughtful documentary that will inform, entertain and inspire others.
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FILMSYNOPSIS
The room spins violently. The earth disappears from under your feet. A horrific buzzing fills your ears as painful pressure builds in your head. It comes out of nowhere, like a thief in the night stealing your health. Life changes forever. But how? Why?
A startling secret, hiding in plain sight, Meniere's Disease silently robs thousands of their hearing and balance along with the ability to maintain their social and professional lives, forcing them into a world of unjust compromise. You can't see it, and they can't explain it.
Unheard: The Ears of Meniere's documentary film brings this mysterious syndrome into the public eye, exploring the enigmatic condition that has plagued many -- including painter Vincent van Gogh, astronaut Alan Shepard and most recently, musician Huey Lewis, actress Kristin Chenoweth, and author Guy Kawasaki-- yet hasn't fully reached the public consciousness. The film pieces together a complicated puzzle of what is keeping people in the dark in matters of their own health. With creative and precise camera work, it pulls the audience inside the victims' heads, simulating their symptoms, so viewers directly experience how it physically debilitates them.
Follow the complex investigation into a disabling disease that has remained unheard for far too long.
DOCUMENTARYTEAM
Janine McGoldrick - Producer/Director
Janine is a veteran entertainment executive who developed tactical promotional campaigns for film, television, and home entertainment. Most notably, as SVP at the independent film company Cohen Media Group (CMG), she led the awards campaign for the Academy Award® winning film The Salesman. At CMG, she worked closely with the CEO, Marketing, Distribution, and Acquisition teams to provide counsel on release schedules, festival campaigns, and films targeted for procurement.
Previously, Janine worked at HBO supervising publicity for the Consumer Marketing, Global Licensing, and Home Entertainment divisions. A gifted project manager, McGoldrick has worked with numerous studios, including Universal Pictures, Artisan Entertainment, Lionsgate, BBC, Hart-Sharp, New Line, and the NY International Children’s Film Festival, to help launch some of the most exciting releases in entertainment. She is a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmys) and NY Women in Film & Television.
Janine was diagnosed with Meniere’s ten years ago.
Giovanna Aguilar – Consulting Producer
Giovanna Aguilar is a Bilingual (Spanish) award-winning multimedia creator and filmmaker who works on documentaries and narratives celebrating the human spirit's tenacity to triumph over adversity. She is developing EPIC Women In Sports, a docuseries she will direct in 2023.
Her producing credits include When We Were Shuttle, a PBS documentary exploring what the Shuttle Program meant to the exceptional men and women who worked behind the scenes to help make it fly, and When We Were Apollo (W3A), the Emmy® Award-winning Best Historical documentary exploring the enduring impact of the Apollo Space Program. She is a member of New York Women in Film & TV, served as the Public Relations Chair (2010-2011) of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), and is the current Vice President of the Cliffside Park Arts Association, NJ.
Adriana Serrato - Director of Photography
Adriana Serrato is a Director of Photography who has worked on feature films, documentaries, music videos and commercials ranging across multiple genres including Children of God, In the Light of the Moon, Murdered and Missing in Montana, and Represent Justice.
Her work has received recognition and excellence awards from the California Film Award, Ouchy Film Awards, Roma Cinema DOC and European Cinematography Award.
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