Kennedy Family and Lyme/Under our Skin Blog

[Guest guest]

Then, later, I was introduced to F. Kennedy Jr., who

spearheaded the gala event to benefit the preservation of America's

waterways. A resident of Lyme-hot Cape Cod, he shared that his whole

family had battled Lyme through the years, and so was well versed in

Lyme. I immediately put a DVD of UNDER OUR SKIN in his hands and told

him that I was sure he would still find the film eye-opening and

beyond the realm of what he thought he knew.

Last week the Salt Lake Film Society screened UNDER OUR SKIN at the

Leonardo Theater as part of its series on health films. The theater

was filled to capacity, with many viewers attesting that Lyme disease

is completely ignored and discounted in Utah. One of the most

satisfying results of the screening was that the film provided a

venue for building not only awareness but also community. After the

screening and impassioned Q & A, I heard that several viewers joined to

create a new Utah Lyme disease support group. That the film is

creating momentum on the grass roots level both to educate and create

new alliances is very satisfying to us at Open Eye Pictures. And we

would love to hear about the ways in which this may be happening in

your community. So be sure to check out the UOS guestbook and share

your own experience.

The most challenging part of this Western tour, however, was waking

up at 5AM in Park City for a 6:45AM TV interview on KSL TV in Salt

Lake City. Swartz, one of the film's executive producers and an

accomplished environmental artist, accompanied me at the interview,

during which we surely woke-up other Utahans with alarming Lyme

stories and statistics. The next day, invited me to attend a

kick-off party for the Celebrity Ski Fest at Deer Valley Resort in

Park City. There I bumped into actor Modine who, upon hearing

about our film, immediately shared his own perilous journey with

Lyme, telling me: " Lyme disease almost killed me. " Then, later, I was

introduced to F. Kennedy Jr., who spearheaded the gala event

to benefit the preservation of America's waterways. A resident of

Lyme-hot Cape Cod, he shared that his whole family had battled Lyme

through the years, and so was well versed in Lyme. I immediately put

a DVD of UNDER OUR SKIN in his hands and told him that I was sure he

would still find the film eye-opening and beyond the realm of what he

thought he knew.

The following day I moved on to New Mexico where the film played to

almost sold out crowds in two screenings at the Santa Fe Film

Festival. As had been the case in other film festivals, the festival

organizers noted that UNDER OUR SKIN was one of the " most popular

films " in the festival. Perhaps my earlier interview on Santa Fe's

public radio station KSFR helped fill seats. A long Q & A followed the

Saturday night screening and local Lyme activist Diane Marie remarked

on how important it was that the film was brought to Santa Fe, where

so many " desert dwellers " suffer in solitude: " We were stunned at the

interest in your well made, high power documentary. " As I ended my

trip under the quiet beauty of falling snow, I was struck by the

ubiquity of this hidden disease that levels us all, from simple folk

to celebrities and stars.

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