This week’s earthquake in Haiti has thrust into the spotlight the relief work done by organizations such as Doctors Without Borders — and if the documentary "Living In Emergency" is any indication, their work there will be grueling, heartbreaking and, unfortunately, never enough.
Also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, the group had about 800 medical staff working at three of Haiti’s medical facilities, all of which were destroyed by Tuesday’s 7.0 earthquake.
The documentary “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders,” which follows MSF doctors in the African nations of Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, had a timely Wrap screening Wednesday at the ArcLight Sherman Oaks.
Producer Naisola Grimwood and executive producer Mark Harris joined TheWrap managing editor Lew Harris to discuss the film, which is on the short list of contenders in the Oscars’ feature-length documentary category.
Grimwood said initially it was difficult to get MSF’s OK to do the film, because they are “suspicious of the media. We were adamant we weren’t going to do a cause movie, or a call to action,” she said. “We wanted to do a verite film. And the only way we wanted to do it was uncensored.
“But once we got MSF’s permission,” she continued, “the doors were open. There were no restrictions,” other than to avoid interfering with the doctors’ security teams.