
Independent Lens
The People vs. Agent Orange
Two women, one American and one Vietnamese, fight to hold the chemical industry accountable for the devastation caused by Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides.
At 27, Kelsey dove into Lake Superior as a dancer and emerged paralyzed. Now she has to redefine who she is while on a quest to find a cure.
Kelsey Peterson is an artist, advocate, and C6 quadriplegic. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Montana in 2008, and later her yoga teacher certification from CorePower Yoga. Her path was tragically interrupted when she sustained a spinal cord injury in 2012 and became paralyzed from the chest down. Since then, she unexpectedly… Show more
Daniel is the director and producer behind the two-time James Beard Award winning online documentary series, The Perennial Plate. Daniel, a former chef (Bouchon, Craft, The Fat Duck), and his wife and co-producer, Mirra Fine, have created over 200 short films around the world (with tens of millions of views and 9 vimeo staff picks). They also produced the… Show more
Eli Olson is an Emmy® Award winning documentary filmmaker and storyteller. Most recently, Eli had four films she edited selected for 2018’s Mill Valley Film Festival: From Baghdad to the Bay, Time for Ilhan, I Am Maris and Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn? Van Dorn won the Active Cinema Audience Award at MVFF; Baghdad to the Bay won Best Documentary at Cinequest… Show more
Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS.
Beneath the waters of Lake Superior off the shore of Wisconsin, Kelsey Peterson underwent a transformation. On the eve of Independence Day 2012, she dove in and smacked the lake bottom head first, suffering an injury that would rob Kelsey of her ability to move her limbs and strip her of her self-identities as an athlete and dancer. Within the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) community, she found peers and allies in her quest to answer the question: Who am I now?
As she grapples with the ebb and flow of hope and acceptance, Kelsey travels across the United States. Along the way, she talks to researchers and meets with people who belong to the SCI community, and who help give her strength and the will to return to dance. When a cutting-edge clinical trial surfaces, it tests her expectations and her faith in the possibility of a cure; forcing her to evaluate the limits of her recovery—body and spirit.
We’ll send you funding deadlines, events, and film news.
Connect with us now at itvs@itvs.org.