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UNDER OUR SKIN just received a “Best Documentary” award from the Fargo Film Festival, which will be held from March 2-6, 2010 at the newly restored Art Deco Fargo Theater. This is the sixth “Best Documentary” award that UOS has received at international film festivals, in addition to several top medical media awards.

Fargo Film Festival Chair Tom Brandau said the film won by a unanimous decision, and affirmed:

“UNDER OUR SKIN is a wonderful film and I know our festival goers will think so too. I also wanted you to know that the film is up for additional awards, which will be announced during the festival.”

As many of you may have heard, UNDER OUR SKIN didn’t make it into the Oscar finals, but we are honored to have made it to the top 15, and to be considered among so many excellent films. During our publicity campaign, thousands more learned about the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease.

In the meantime, we will continue our efforts to spread the word through film festivals, television broadcast, educational distribution, and community outreach. To learn more about hosting or attending a screening in your area, visit our website.

UNDER OUR SKIN was one of six documentaries selected by New York’s Tribeca Film Institute for a special January 9th viewing marathon of the most promising films on the 2010 Oscars feature documentary short list.

We encourage UNDER OUR SKIN supporters in the New York area to pack the theater with friends to help generate a groundswell of public support for the final Oscar nominations, which will be announced on February 2, 2010.

For more information and tickets, visit http://www.tribecafilm.com/docseries/

Saturday, January 9 at 8:30pm
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street (Laight below Canal)

UNDER OUR SKIN continues to garner critical acclaim among the Oscar watch pundits. The film was selected as one of the “Best films of 2009” by the movie awards website InContention.com, which also predicted UNDER OUR SKIN would be among the five nominated documentaries. Our fingers are crossed as we enter the home stretch. Having an “Oscar nominated” label on the film will do more to boost awareness about Lyme disease than 1000 press releases. Keep up the good work. Spread the word.

“Like a well-made thriller, gets under your skin…More deeply terrifying than any slasher film you’ll ever see.”
- Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post

“Fascinating…artful and compelling.”
- Frank DiGiacomo, Vanity Fair

“Scary enough to make the faint of heart decide never to venture into the woods.”
- Stephen Holden, New York Times

“Frightening, powerful stuff.”
- Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times

“The most important documentary to come out this year.” 
- Molly Dedham, Sirius-XM Radio

“Stirs the deepest emotions and reveals the most unsettling truth.”
- Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle

“Head-spinning…riveting…a rigorously researched and highly thorough piece of investigative reporting.” 
- Lauren Wissot, Slant Magazine

“Dramatically compelling…a ripping indictment of the medical establishment’s failure to uphold its oath.”
- Dann Gire, Chicago Daily Herald

“A powerful film and cautionary tale…as significant an indictment of American medical practices as Michael Moore’s Sicko.”
- Curt Schleier, Film Sound Off

“One of the most frightening horror movies I’ve seen. The evil in it springs from deer ticks and human ignorance, both of which seemed to be omnipresent.” 
- Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer

“Infectiously persuasive…targets both the heart and brain.”
- Sarah Sluis, Hollywood Reporter

“Rock solid…paced like a horror story.”
- Susan Orlean, The Daily Beast

“Best Films of 2009″
- InContention.com

“Enlightening and alarming…Wilson takes us on a journey of discovery.”
- Leonard Maltin, Film Critic

Recognition for UNDER OUR SKIN:
Audience Choice Award Finalist, Tribeca Film Festival
; Best Documentary, Houston International Film Festival
; Best Documentary, Sonoma International Film Festival; 
Best Documentary, Durango Independent Film Festival
; Best Documentary, Okanagan International Film Festival; 
Best Documentary, Camden International Film Festival; 
Audience Favorite, Durango Independent Film Festival
; Audience Favorite, Okanagan International Film Festival
; Best Picture Silver Award, International Health Film Festival; 
Best in Health & Science, CINE Golden Eagle Awards; 
Best in Category, International Health & Medical Media Awards; 
Best Cinematography, International Health & Medical Media Awards; 
Chris Award, Columbus International Film Festival; 
Best Documentary Silver Award, Asheville Film Festival
; Honorable Mention, Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival
; Audience Award Runner-up, Berkshire International Film Festival
; Best Socially Conscious Documentary Nominee, IFP/Fledgling Fund

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that UNDER OUR SKIN was selected as one of the 15 finalists competing for “Best Documentary Feature” in the 82nd Academy Awards®.

Unfolding like a real-life thriller, UNDER OUR SKIN exposes the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease and reveals how our corrupt medical system is failing to address one of the most serious illnesses of our time. Open Eye Pictures is thrilled that the Academy has honored the courageous Lyme patients and physicians whose stories are told in this film. And we hope that this nomination will help spread awareness about this devastating disease and serve as a catalyst for fixing our country’s broken health care system.

The Documentary Branch Screening Academy Committee viewed all eighty-nine qualifying documentaries during the preliminary round of voting. Academy members will now select five nominees from among the 15 titles on the shortlist, and Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

Andy Abrahams Wilson receives award from festival jury and town mayor

UNDER OUR SKIN was just awarded “Best Feature Film-Silver Award” at the 1st International Health Film Festival in Kos, Greece. The tiny island in the eastern Aegean sea was the home to Hippocrates, father of medicine. Over 80 films competed and were juried by industry professionals as well as physicians. It was another great triumph of recognition within the medical community of a disease too long ignored and a health system riddled with commercial conflicts. I was fortunate to be present to receive the award (a commemorative silver coin of Hippocrates and bust of the Greek goddess of health Hygieia), as my trip was graciously covered by the U.S. Embassy in Athens. The Q&A (at 2AM!) was especially contentious, with a few physicians in the audience asking challenging questions. I was very impressed by the Greeks’ natural and ancestral love of dialog and debate–and ability to genuinely listen to another viewpoint. This made it even more special and validating to be honored in the birthplace of medicine and the Hippocratic Oath, which reminds and challenges us some 2500 years later to do no harm to patients. One pledge stands out in particular as strikingly relevant in the Lyme disease arena:

“I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.”

And yet, Lyme-literate physicians (e.g. Dr. J. Jemsek and Dr. C. Jones) continue to be persecuted for upholding this oath. On the contrary, many physicians do untold harm by denying Lyme patients accurate diagnosis and effective treatment, so often telling them that their problems are “all in their head” or, as in Mandy’s case, “There’s no medicine for someone like you.” May this award serve as another clarion call to return to the essence of medicine, in full humility and for the good of the patient. The film festival jury explained its award choice to UNDER OUR SKIN…

“For advocating at the frontier of medicine. The film provides an activist challenge to the medical profession on ethical review standards, long term treatment and the necessary attentiveness to those who suffer from Lyme disease.”

See pictures from the festival on our Facebook page

Amy Tan and Andy Abrahams Wilson at Tribeca Film Festival

Last year, when UNDER OUR SKIN had its world premiere (and was an Audience Award finalist) at the Tribeca Film Festival, it was one of three films selected to include a special “Behind the Screens” panel discussion. Bestselling author Amy Tan joined the panel (which also included filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson, Chief Science and Health Correspondent for NBC News, Robert Bazell, and LLMD Richard Horowitz, MD). Read the Tribeca press blog and watch the panel discussion in its entirety.

Last week UNDER OUR SKIN came to Canada to play at the Okanagan International Film Festival in the breathtaking lake region of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation (CLDF) generously sponsored my attendance, as well as film subject Dana Walsh, who arrived by car from Seattle with her Canadian husband Tim. We were greeted with great Canuck hospitality, including two private CLDF receptions and a festival boat ride. The high point of the weekend was our sold-out screening at a local multiplex, which turned out to be the most attended film screening at the festival. Kudos to CLDF member Cali James for her magnificent PR work prior to the festival! I polled the audience and at least half had no relation to Lyme disease, boding well for the film’s “crossover” appeal as we move closer to theatrical release. CLDF President Jim Wilson (no relation!) presented us with a $2,000 check towards our outreach campaign, telling us that UNDER OUR SKIN was the best outreach tool ever for the Lyme community, and driving home the point that this was an international crisis: Lyme disease doesn’t just stop at the Canadian border (or any borders), as the official CDC maps would have us believe.

Not only were we feted with fun and financial assistance, but UNDER OUR SKIN was awarded “Best International Documentary” PLUS the festival’s top honor, the “Audience Favorite” award! Many thanks to the festival organizers, and especially to the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation for their generosity and continuing support.

Click here to see more festival photos on our Facebook page

Click here to view a short video interview with UOS’s Andy Abrahams Wilson and Dana Walsh, and CLDF’s Jim Wilson

UNDER OUR SKIN won an Honorable Mention at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, the largest environmental film festival in the United States. Set in the wild-west town of Nevada City, CA, this festival honors films that inspire viewers to go out and make a difference in protecting our planet.

During the awards ceremony, the emcee recognized the relevance of UNDER OUR SKIN to the outdoorsy festival attendees, saying, “Though Wild and Scenic is primarily an environmental film festival, we felt that UNDER OUR SKIN was a fine example of how films can be used to educate and promote activism. It is a well-researched film that fairly presents both sides of an important health issue that effects us all.”

Also in attendance was Nevada City resident Jordan Fisher Smith, the author of “Nature Noir.” In the film, Jordan provides insightful observations on the Lyme disease epidemic and its relationship to global warming, as viewers follow his battles with the disease and his health insurance company.

One festival attendee, Riki, sent in this review of the film: “I wanted to thank everyone who made this wonderful documentary film possible. I cried for the people who told their stories. I cried for myself. I have chronic lyme: I was bitten in 1988 when I was 38 years old. So I have experienced what they have, and I love all of you for telling our story and making more people aware that we are not crazy. Again, thank you to everyone who put this together.”

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. Susan 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, Susan 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 Matthew 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 Robert 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 desert dwellers to celebrities and stars.

UNDER OUR SKIN played to sold out crowds last month at the fourth annual Camden International Film Festival, and shared the Harrell Award for Best Documentary, along with Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s THE GARDEN. The Harrell Award is sponsored by Camden resident Jennifer Watt Harrell, a Scots-American who has been an ardent fan of the British and American documentary genre for nearly half a century. Awards were chosen by a special jury of selected industry professionals and filmmakers and by CIFF audiences.

This year’s festival smashed previous records, with an estimated 3,500 tickets being sold to enthusiastic Maine filmgoers throughout the course of the weekend.

What better place was there to have our West Coast premiere than in a premiere film festival in our own back yard? It was a celebratory gathering at the 375-seat Sequoia Theater on October 11th, home to the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival, just a few miles away from Open Eye Pictures’ studios in Sausalito. Every seat was filled–with crew, friends of the crew, friends of the film, and the general public. Sold out weeks in advance, many had waited for rush tickets for up to an hour. Surely, the pre-festival press drew many in the crowd. San Francisco Fox affiliate KTVU aired an excellent piece on the film last month, and so did NBC Bay Area. San Francisco Magazine called the film “provocative…causing a sensation everywhere it screens.” And for the film’s bold tackling of the health care debacle, its headlines read: “Move over Michael Moore!”

During the lively post-screening Q&A with Director Andy Abrahams Wilson, Editor Eva Brzeski, Senior Producer Kris Newby and film subjects Dana Walsh and Jordan Fisher Smith, CALDA’s president Phylis Mervine presented a Community Service Award to Open Eye Pictures for making the film.

The following day, after another sold-out screening at the Rafael Theater in San Rafael, Andy, Eva, Dana and her husband Tim gathered on the Hornblower Cruise ship for the closing night party of the festival. It was a gala event on San Francisco Bay honoring actress Alfre Woodard and with the unexpected, surreal backdrop of a raging forest fire that was engulfing Angel Island as the cruise began. It was a reminder, even as the festival celebrated “There’s no mistaking great film,” of the horror and beauty of nature. As the fire scarred the earth just beyond the boat’s decks, it was impossible not to be awed by the spectacle and to recognize our deep connectedness to the skin of the earth–an important reminder as we regard the Lyme epidemic. How we touch the earth touches us.

Next stop: Abu Dhabi for the Middle East Film Festival where UNDER OUR SKIN will be shown as part of a section of “Environmental Films.” Stay tuned!

A day after showing excerpts from UNDER OUR SKIN at the Lyme briefing on Capitol Hill, Andy presented the film at the historic Avalon Theater in DC. The event was organized by the National Capital Lyme Disease Association partly as a way for legislators to see the full version of the film after the congressional briefing. We don’t know why they found it more important that night to work to bail out Wall Street and avoid plunging the country into a depression, but at least they got free DVDs delivered to their offices by event volunteers.

The next day, Andy took off for the Camden International Documentary Film Festival where the film sold out the 400-seat Strand Theater in Rockland, Maine. Andy also had a meeting there with a distribution company, at which was discussed plans to release the film in theaters nationwide sometime early next year! More on that later.

And this breaking news: We just heard from a friend in New Jersey that the FOX News interview with Andy was just broadcast in the NY Tri-State area and is planned to show soon nationally. More on this later, too.

Now it’s off to Raleigh, North Carolina for a special screening sponsored by the North Carolina Lyme Disease Foundation. Yes, the frequent flyer miles are adding up. But lets hope those infamous flying ticks aren’t on board these flights!

An excerpt from UNDER OUR SKIN played to a rapt and standing-room only crowd today at the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill. A historic moment for the Lyme community, this briefing was sponsored by the National Capital Lyme Disease Association, co-sponsored by Turn The Corner Foundation (the film’s outreach partner) and signed-on by the offices of Senators Dodd and Lieberman. In addition to the film and the film’s director Andy Abrahams Wilson, speakers included Pam Weintraub, author of “Cure Unknown” and a few DC area Lyme-literate physicians. Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer showed up, along with many congressional staffers.

Press was abundant, and attendees agreed this was an important moment in the struggle to bring Lyme disease out of obscurity and uncover an epidemic that is silently taking its toll across the country. Legislators were invited to a full screening of the film at the Avalon Theater in DC the following day (which, we are told, has sold out its 450 seats!). Stay tuned for more reverberations coming from this important legislative briefing.

Click here for more press information.

After packed screenings at film festivals on the East Coast, including Tribeca, Silverdocs, Maine, Rhode Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, and Berkshires, UOS will have its West Coast premiere at the prestigious Mill Valley Film Festival on Saturday, October 11th at 6:45PM. A second screening will be held on Sunday October 12th at 4PM. These tickets will sell out quickly, so be sure to purchase your tickets early.

As an official selection of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, UNDER OUR SKIN played to capacity crowds in Vineyard Haven and Chilmark.

One longtime friend of the festival included Jane Alexander, the actress and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). She called UNDER OUR SKIN “an unforgettable documentary about the epidemic of Lyme disease and the medical establishment’s shameful response to the crisis. This is a moving and beautifully structured film; truly memorable.” 


For more coverage of the film at MV Film Festival see:

• The Plum TV interview with Director Andy Abrahams Wilson and Executive Producer Susan Swartz
• The Edgartown panel discussion about Lyme disease
• The Vineyard Gazette
• The Martha’s Vineyard Times

Excuse me if I rave for a few moments about our new film publicist, Marc Silverstein of On the Marc Media. If you’re a “foodie,” you may know him as the host of “Make My Dinner” on Discovery Channel. But to us, he’s a Public Relations Top Chef, whipping up UNDER OUR SKIN press coverage on six network television interviews, a syndicated radio show spot, and in the Washington Post during the SilverDocs Film Festival.

I can’t emphasize enough how exceptional it is to get this much media attention during a festival featuring 100 films, covering a disease that was previously thought to be “easy to treat, easy to cure.” Not to mention that this controversy was previously regarded as “old news” by mainstream media.

Thank you Marc for ushering our film into the limelight and helping the Lyme issue reach a tipping point of awareness.

You can watch these news segments featuring director Andy Abrahams Wilson and our Leading Lyme Lady, Mandy, on our new UOS YouTube webpage.

We were thrilled to hear about our second big festival acceptance – SilverDocs International, one of the biggest documentary-only film festivals. This is an important festival because all the major broadcasters and distributors shopping for nonfiction films attend. And it’s the home of the Hope to Heal Lyme Conference, the event where we interviewed many of the Lyme sufferers in the film.

A few days after the SilverDocs box office opened, Sky Sitney, the festival organizer, told us, “I can’t believe how many calls we’re getting about your film. UNDER OUR SKIN is number one in ticket sales so far.”

While our first screening sold out quickly, we were able to free up some reserved festival passholder tickets the other nights, in order to accommodate the demand.

Sky Sitney later said this about UNDER OUR SKIN: “A very important and timely work, not to mention an extraordinarily cinematic piece.”

As one of the “most provocative films” at Tribeca Film Festival, UNDER OUR SKIN was featured in a “Behind the Screens” panel discussion at the Director’s Guild Theater in Midtown Manhattan.

At this sold-out event, Robert Bazell, Chief Health and Science Correspondent for NBC News, moderated a discussion with Andy Abrahams Wilson, the film’s director; Amy Tan, the best-selling author and former Lyme patient; and Dr. Richard Horowitz, a Lyme expert featured in our film.

During the course of researching UNDER OUR SKIN, we discovered many celebrities with Lyme disease, but only Amy Tan had the courage to speak on camera about her struggles. In her book, “The Opposite of Fate,” she talks about her harrowing symptoms, her string of misdiagnoses, and her long road to recovery.

In “Fate” she asks the question that most Lyme patients ask themselves along the way – Why did I get this horrible disease? Is it fate or a curse? What can I do to help others avoid this fate? In the case of Amy, her actions speak louder than words. Kudos to Amy for all that she’s done for Lyme research and the Lyme patient community.

For more details on this event, read AM Peters’ excellent coverage on the Film Panel Notetaker Blog.

On April 23, 2008, we stumbled out of our darkened editing suite, squinting in the sunlight, and flew our Lyme disease documentary to its first public showing at the Tribeca Film Festival. UNDER OUR SKIN was one of the few documentaries selected from over 5,000 submissions.

After four years of research, filming, editing, and interviewing literally hundreds of Lyme disease patients and experts, our team felt honored to witness the audience response to this important project – the first feature-length documentary on the Lyme disease epidemic. We received standing ovations at our screenings and many members of the audiences were moved to tears.

Many special thanks to Aaron Dobbs, the Tribeca festival programmer who discovered our work-in-progress at Independent Film Week in New York six months earlier. He worked diligently to get our film noticed during the very competitive Tribeca selection process.

Aaron added, “UNDER OUR SKIN was definitely one of the most talked-about films here…Wilson’s careful study and expert storytelling provide a compelling, informative, and emotional experience.”

And finally, thanks to our most ardent Tribeca fans, whose votes helped us become a Cadillac Audience Award finalist, receiving 7th place out of 121 films.