A Legacy of Uranium Between the Sacred Mountains
WATCH THE TRAILER
The Project
From 1944 to 1986, nearly 30 million tons of uranium ore were extracted from Navajo lands under leases with the Navajo Nation. Many Navajo people worked the mines, often living and raising families in close proximity to the mines and mills. Although the mines are no longer operational, they were never properly closed and capped. Consequently, today, a legacy of uranium contamination remains, including over 500 abandoned uranium mines (AUMs) as well as homes and water sources with elevated levels of radiation.
It is often said that at the core of any documentary is a story that must be told. This is one of those stories. The reaction to disparities in cancer care among American Indians has been jaw-dropping and has garnered attention from corporations, community leaders, media, donors, and The White House.
The intent of the film is to create awareness and action by telling the story of Cancer on the Navajo Nation through the eyes and voices of the people who have been impacted by the cancer-causing uranium on Native lands, and the impact of environmental racism that persists today.
This project was developed in partnership with the Navajo Hopi Health Foundation. Please consider a donation to the Foundation through the link below.
Producer Biographies
DEREN P. ABRAM
Denver, Colorado-based, Emmy Award winning producer, filmmaker/videographer, editor, and writer, with over 25 years of extensive experience in film and television including: feature films, reality programming, promos, episodics, MOWs, and over a decade of producing thousands of highly conceptual marketing, commercial, educational, and various internal and external videos for a variety of global corporations with strict branding guidelines and deliverables.
Resume includes The ESPY Awards, X-Games, Food Network, ABC Sports, NFL’s Monday Night Football, IFC, Sundance Channel, ESPN, History Channel, Sony, HBO, Documentary Channel, Comedy Central, INSP, PAX, E!, Warner Brothers, Universal Studios, just to name just a few.
Deren originally founded his company Film Pharm, Inc in 1996 as a film production company producing farmed out work for many studios and networks in Hollywood. Deren’s first office was in a Hollywood backlot in Bungalow #two-24. It was there that Deren pledged to himself to take on the hard work that’s worth doing, challenge the status quo, and to only deliver exceptional work that meets incredibly high standards. After 15 years in Los Angeles, Deren moved his family to Colorado and is now based in Denver, Colorado. Film Pharm has rebranded to Two24media as a reminder of that pledge, the company’s roots, and its commitment to its work and clients.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
TELLY AWARDS
Winner of FIVE Awards* 2019
(*People’s Choice, Branding/Promotional, Public Interest, Public Service/PSA, Professional Services)
EMMY AWARD NOMINATED
Outstanding Direction 2011
EMMY AWARD WINNER
Outstanding Sports Tease 2003
EMMY AWARD NOMINATED
Outstanding Television Segment 2004
EMMY AWARD NOMINATED
Outstanding Sports Tease 2004
KIDS FIRST! WINNER
Outstanding Children’s Entertainment 2006
CONTACT
Deren P. Abram
Producer — two24media
dpa@two24media.com
cell: 818-314-0452
KIM THIBOLDEAUX
As a nonprofit executive, thought leader, and author, Kim Thiboldeaux continues to make her mark on the global stage by ensuring that the patient’s voice is at the center of every conversation about cancer.
Thiboldeaux served as CEO of the Cancer Support Community (CSC) for 20 years, from 2000-2020, leading a global nonprofit network that operates at 175 locations, including CSC and Gilda’s Club centers, and in multiple hospitals and cancer clinics. Combined with a toll-free Helpline, a research institute, and a DC-based policy institute, this network of professionally-led services provides more than $50 million each year in free support and navigation services to patients and families.
Thiboldeaux’s service includes appointments to the nation’s premier panels on cancer. In 2019, Dr. Francis S. Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, appointed Thiboldeaux to the Novel and Exceptional Technology and Research Advisory Committee. This panel is focused on providing advice and serving as a transparent forum for discussion of the scientific, safety, and ethical issues associated with emerging biotechnologies. In 2017, she was appointed to serve on the Biden Cancer Initiative’s Board of Directors.
In serving as a patient advocate on these high-profile boards and panels, Thiboldeaux has brought attention to inequities in our health care system. In 2019, she joined Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, Dr. Jill Biden, and leaders of the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation in Arizona to mark the opening of the first-ever full-time cancer and support center on an American Indian Reservation. After securing a generous gift from the Barbara Bradley Baekgaard Family Foundation, Thiboldeaux helped convene key Navajo Nation leaders, private sector supporters, and other officials to establish this culturally-adapted program located in an area larger than the state of West Virginia. That work led to the opportunity to develop a full-length, feature documentary, Navajo Nation USA, about the cancer center and the triumphs and challenges of the Navajo people.
In 2020, Stand Up To Cancer appointed Thiboldeaux to its Equity Breakthrough Research Review Team, focusing on cancers affecting underrepresented populations. In 2019, the International Psychosocial Oncology Society presented Thiboldeaux with the President’s Community Award for Distinguished Contributions at its global Congress in Canada.
Thiboldeaux has led numerous other initiatives to help patients in need. Most notably, she launched an emergency fund in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that provided financial relief grants to thousands of patients affected by the economic downturn and expanded the organization’s professionally-staffed Helpline as the call volume nearly doubled. As part of a two-year collaboration she led with Airbnb, more than 3,000 patients in need were provided free housing while traveling for treatment.
Thiboldeaux’s insights are highly sought after, with interviews including the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, PBS, Philadelphia Inquirer, WebMD, and speaking engagements, including a TEDx Talk and White House convenings. She is the author of the full-length book released in 2021, Your Cancer Map- Navigating Life With Resilience, Foreword by Dr. Jill Biden. Her writing has been featured on Medium and also in the Huffington Post. In addition, Thiboldeaux hosted a weekly internet radio show for 10 years, Frankly Speaking About Cancer, focused on informing and inspiring people to live well with cancer.
A native of Philadelphia, Thiboldeaux grew up in a close-knit family of five children. In 2018, Thiboldeaux drove her father, a retired Philadelphia city bus driver and lifelong Eagles fan, to Minneapolis where, together, they watched their beloved home team win its first Super Bowl title.
Thiboldeaux graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a minor in Spanish. While at American, Thiboldeaux studied abroad in London and Buenos Aires, experiences that spurred her lifelong zest for travel. She has visited all seven continents, all 50 states, and 50-plus countries, and has no intention of slowing down her exploration of new countries and cultures.
CONTACT
Kim Thiboldeaux
Producer — KDT Alliances
thiboldeaux@gmail.com
cell: 202-329-0338