#SupportCBTN / a Documentary Short by Annalise's Dad
For Brain Tumor Awareness Month I teamed up with the Children’s Brain Tumor Network to drive awareness and fundraising for the cause. This video was premiered on May 20th, 2021 at the CBTN’s Investigator Meeting.
This documentary is for Annalise and all the kids and families whose lives have been changed forever by a brain tumor diagnosis. I’m grateful to have had the chance to tell Annalise’s story, but also the story of the many brilliant researchers, clinicians, and good humans who make the Children's Brain Tumor Network a truly revolutionary force for change. This was a hard video to make. At times I wanted to quit. But when it got tough I just kept thinking about the kids and the parents who deserve more options and more time.
20 minutes might seem long, but it’s much shorter than the amount of time Annalise had to lay bolted to a table with a hard plastic mask covering her entire head and shoulders just to receive a single radiation treatment. She did that 33 times, which made her feel better for about 6 weeks. Clearly, new treatments are desperately needed now. Be a part of the movement. #SupportCBTN #WeWontStop
“I believe in signs. And at one point during the filming I actually received one from Annalise. I was shooting the lab, and I noticed that someone had placed a big panda stuffed-toy on the window sill. Believe me when I say I did not place the panda there. I’ve also been assured that a stuffed-toy is not a normal item to find in a lab environment. By my own eyes, I did not see any other decorations at the work stations. That lab is all business. And yet, right there at the end of a row of test tubes and beakers was this panda bear, Annalise’s favorite animal. Since this was the first time I captured a sign through my camera’s lens, I had to keep in the documentary. Look for it at the 15:55 mark. At that moment, I felt as if Annalise was telling me she was right there with me. It’s even more meaningful now because this sign really kept me going through the making of the video. There were times where I was so emotionally drained from the editing (crying), that seeing this on my computer screen was a constant reminder of her approval of this project. The panda gave me some PandaPower to finish that initial edit. And it made me feel like I was on the right path. That I was supposed to make this video. Share this message. Not just for Annalise, but for others, because it’s the right thing to do and the right thing for me to be doing at this moment, in this life.”