We believe in the power of storytelling to change hearts and minds. For the past decade and a half, Carolyn Jones has collaborated with producer Lisa C. Frank, and more recently with Cinematographers Rob Gourley (pictured) and Jaka Vinsek, to produce award-winning film and photography projects that illuminate the depth of humanity among us. The team successfully raised the volume of nurses’ collective voice through their multiple award-winning American Nurse Project, and had an opportunity to influence U.S. healthcare policy with a congressional screening of Defining Hope. Their film In Case of Emergency centers on the nurse’s role in the Emergency Department, and was the recipient of multiple prestigious film festival awards, including Best Documentary at the United Nations Association Film Festival, and their most recent film, American Delivery, has been viewed by millions of people on PBS stations nationwide. Their projects are featured in the American Film Showcase, a cultural diplomacy program of the U.S. Department of State.
Team Bios
Carolyn Jones, Director and Executive Producer
Carolyn Jones is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker who specializes in telling stories that shed light on issues of global concern. From people “living positively” with AIDS to women artists supporting entire communities and nurses on the front lines of our healthcare system, Jones has devoted her career to celebrating invisible populations and breaking down barriers. Her most widely acclaimed book publications include Living Proof: Courage in the Face of AIDS and The American Nurse, which led to a feature documentary included in the U.S. State Department’s American Film Showcase. Her award-winning documentary Defining Hope, which was the culmination of a journey investigating how we can make better end-of-life choices, was broadcast over 1,000 times on PBS stations nationwide. Carolyn’s recent documentary In Case of Emergency, focuses on our nation’s biggest public health challenges—from COVID-19 to a lack of health insurance to the devastating impact of the opioid crisis. Carolyn was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing as an honorary Fellow for her contributions to the nursing profession.
Click to watch Carolyn’s TEDMED talk, “A Tribute to Nurses.”
Lisa C. Frank, Producer and Executive Producer
Lisa Frank is a documentary producer and nonprofit director who guides multimedia projects from inception through distribution, outreach, and audience engagement. For nearly two decades, she has collaborated with filmmaker Carolyn Jones on films exploring healthcare, nursing, and the systems that shape care in America and around the world. Their work includes American Delivery, a PBS documentary examining the maternal health crisis through the experiences of families and healthcare providers, and the forthcoming A Long Way to Go, which explores the global migration of nurses and its impact on healthcare systems worldwide. Together, they have created award-winning documentaries and engagement campaigns that have reached millions of viewers through PBS, the Discovery Network, and community-based initiatives.
Chelsea Smith, Editor
Chelsea Smith is a New York-based editor & graphic designer. She has previously collaborated with American Delivery director Carolyn Jones on In Case of Emergency, a deep-dive into emergency department nursing in the era of COVID-19 (awarded the Grand Jury award for Best Documentary at the United Nations Association Film Festival), & Defining Hope, a look into end-of-life care. Other credits include Don’t Blink: Robert Frank (graphics & animation), Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno Live! & Vanderbilt University’s Quantum Potential series. When she is not editing, you can find her befriending the dogs of Brooklyn.
Jaka Vinšek, Cinematographer
Jaka Vinšek is a Slovenian-born, Brooklyn-based photographer and cinematographer. His personal projects focus on the passion of others, from athletes pushing their bodies to the limit to medical professionals helping those in need. Exploring diverse cultures and alternative lifestyles, Jaka’s work seeks intimate moments within the unfamiliar. Before moving to New York, Jaka worked for several major Slovenian publications as well as international news agencies like Reuters and the Associated Press. For over three years, beginning in 2004, he travelled the world as the personal photographer to the President of Slovenia. Since relocating to the United States, Jaka has worked with a variety of documentary, fashion and lifestyle clients. He shot two award-winning, feature-length documentaries: Defining Hope, which examines end of life treatment in America, and The American Nurse, which showcases the lives and incredible stories of nurses across the country.
Robert Gourley, Cinematographer
Robert Gourley is an Emmy Award-winning documentary director of photography based in Brooklyn, NY, who shoots verité documentary with a strong instinct for story. Rob’s visual storytelling career began at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar and received national recognition from College Photographer of the Year and the Hearst Journalism Awards. After working as a staff video journalist at the Los Angeles Times, he began freelancing in 2020 and has filmed in 10 countries — including inside the Fukushima nuclear plant, in cloistered monastic settings, at births in rural Ghana, and in other high-trust, high-stakes access environments. He has also interviewed cultural icons including Keegan-Michael Key, Salman Rushdie, and Billy Porter, and is a full member of the Documentary Cinematographers Alliance.