Storyhunter Staff Picks of the Month: April 2018

With a new month comes a new selection of Staff Picks! Chosen from dozens of videos produced through Storyhunter in April and watched during our weekly Storytime, these three left a lasting impression. From a mother campaigning for the clean-up of a nuclear meltdown to a painting pig and an unusual species of chickens, here are our monthly favorites:

This secret gave her daughter cancer

Change.org
Storyhunter Documentary Shooter: Nicholas M.

Change.org wanted to tell the story of a petition started on their website by the parents of over 50 children with rare forms of cancer. The families all live within miles of Santa Susana Field Lab, the site of one of worst nuclear meltdowns in U.S. history. Melissa, who founded the campaign after her daughter Grace was diagnosed with leukemia, is spearheading the petition to get the site cleaned up once and for all, so that no one else is put in danger. Change.org used Storyhunter to commission Nicholas M. to shoot the video, saying that “he showed up well researched on the topic of our video, brought immense expertise to the production process, and worked with us to develop our story and overall message…ultimately, the finished video went above and beyond our expectations!”

Pigcasso Paints

60 Second Docs
Storyhunter Documentary Shooter: Rowen S.*

60 Second Docs produced this story on Pigcasso — a famous painting pig in South Africa. The pig’s artwork goes for thousands of dollars and helps raise awareness about animal cruelty. After being saved from the slaughterhouse by Joanne Lefson, a South African animal rights activist, Pigcasso has gone on to create dozens of paintings, including a viral portrait of Donald Trump. To shoot the story, 60 Second Docs posted an assignment on Storyhunter and hired Rowen S., a Durban-based filmmaker.

The Dark Side of the Coop

Great Big Story
Storyhunter Documentary Shooter: Jeremy K.

In West Java, Indonesia, one farmer is raising a rare species of all-black chickens called Ayam Cemani. Some believe that these unique chickens bring good fortune, peace, and prosperity to their owners while others are afraid of the mysticism associated with them. The story of the unusual charcoal chickens has attracted over 3.4 million views on Facebook since it was published at the beginning of April. Great Big Story commissioned the video from Storyhunter Jeremy K., a filmmaker based in the Philippines.

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By D. Simone Kovacs, Storyhunter Editor