Genre
Synopsis
I'M STILL HERE, LOVE is an in-depth look at how social media platforms, savvy politicians, unqualified medical professionals, and religious leaders inundated desperate people with farcical information in order to make a profit off desperate, scared people who questioned the reality of COVID-19 and the validity of the vaccine, claiming they were exercising their First Amendment right to “Free Speech.” Because of this country's historic, systemic, racial health disparities and the unregulated disinformation that spreads instantaneously on social media, tens of thousands of people refused, continue to refuse or remain hesitant because of disinformation; in particular communities of color. Many people refuse to sympathize with those left behind because of the controversial nature surrounding the deceased's decision not to vaccinate. Now people who lost loved ones to the virus are suffering from disenfranchised grief, refusing to tell others how their loved one died for fear of being judged. Barbers and stylists are stepping up by becoming certified health advocates in order to provide "barber shop medicine," using their platforms in their shops and salons to educate customers on the dangers of mis- and disinformation.
Bio
Director and cinematographer Meg Daniels has been telling people's stories for over 25 years. As a native of Upstate New York, she discovered photography at a young age. Over the course of her career, she became a photo essayist and filmmaker, knowing that it was her responsibility to use her storytelling skills as a platform for raising awareness about social justice issues both well-known and shrouded by secrecy. Proper Pronouns, her first feature film, has screened in several 2020 film festivals including The New Orleans Film Festival and Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The film was broadcasted on PBS-NC in November 2020 and was recently selected to be a part of the 2022 Southern Circuit Film Tour.
Currently, Meg is working on a project titled I’m Still Here, Love. This short documentary follows the devastating aftermath that three women experienced after the tragic deaths of their loved ones to COVID-19 indirectly caused by the systemic failure of state and federal governments, religious institutions, scientific experts, and social media platforms that allowed substantial amounts of disinformation to flood news feeds and airwaves.
Meg graduated with her MFA in documentary filmmaking from WFU on May 18, 2019 and will begin her teaching career as an adjunct professor in the Communications Department at Elon University in August 2022.
Screening History
The Guild Theater in partnership with Stanford University (private screening)
