National Geographic: Katie’s New Face
Published August 2018
12+ million views on YouTube for the 23 minute documentary
32+ million views on YouTube for the 3 minute cut-down
National Geographic's number one and two most viewed videos on YouTube in 2018
The story was shared across all of National Geographic's platforms and is one of the only films initiated and produced by the magazine to air as a special on National Geographic Channel.
Maggie Steber's images, as well as a video edit, were exhibited at Photoville in 2018.
I followed the world’s youngest face transplant recipient for two years as the Director of Photography and an Executive Producer of this short documentary for National Geographic.
The film accompanied National Geographic’s September 2018 cover story “The Story of a Face,” with photos by Maggie Steber and Lynn Johnson, and story by Joanna Connors.
As a one-woman crew, I got to know the Stubblefield family while filming day-to-day life as they waited with cautious optimism for a donor, the day of the surgery itself, and the difficult and long process of healing after the surgery. I filmed and conducted all of the interviews with the family and the doctors as a one-woman crew as well.
This is a film about the ground-breaking science and surgical team who performed this most intricate and personal of transplants, the dedication and humor it takes to be a professional patient, and the amazing resilience and deep faith that people can find in times of pain.