SYNOPSIS

Born before vaccines, a woman shares her struggle with polio while reflecting on love, life and overcoming obstacles .

Nancy Brown is a wickedly sharp social worker, born and raised just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a young girl, Nancy was diagnosed with polio, and today at 83, the disease continues to affect her quality of life. Her mobility has become so limited, that she cannot complete most daily tasks on her own, and has had to move hours away from her small town into the assisted living facility she now calls home. 

In Nancy, the audience is given an intimate, up-close account of Nancy's struggles with polio and how the disease continues to affect her life today. Through interactions with her family over one weekend, Nancy provides insight into what it is like to live with a disease that could have been prevented. 

"There's really no treatment [for polio]. It's just a progressive thing, like your muscles just continue to get weaker and weaker."
- Nancy Brown

WHAT IS POLIO?

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that attacks the central nervous system. The virus enters the body through the nose and mouth, and can first present itself as flu-like symptoms. Polio can cause muscle paralysis, which may result in death if the muscles controlling breathing become paralyzed.  While polio most commonly infects children under 5 years old, anyone who is not immune to polio can become infected. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1955, thousands of Canadians were paralyzed from the disease. There is no cure for polio but it can be prevented through immunization. 

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THE TEAM

Olivia Chafe

Director

Olivia is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Directing, Writing, and Producing. She loves nothing more than seeing a good story come to life visually, on screen. Olivia first discovered her passion for storytelling writing plays and filming short videos in high school. However, it was the technical aspects of filmmaking that led her to pursue her Bachelor in Film & Television Production. In the near future, Olivia aspires to work in live television broadcasting or television production. ​

Teleri McGuire-Astolfo

Picture Editor

Teleri is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Video Editing and Directing. She has always enjoyed watching films from a young age and found it interesting how a story could bring so much meaning. Teleri loves the idea of giving an idea life and being able to piece together a narrative. Once hearing about this unique story, she felt that it was one that could bring a sense of enlightenment towards this now rare disease. 

Breandan McGuire-Astolfo

Boom Operator

Breandon is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Sound and Directing. He has been a cinephile since a young age, being in awe of sci fi, fantasy and film noir films. His passion became more apparent after taking a film elective in high school, which led him to his current studies in the medium.

Steven Popik

Producer​

Steven is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Editing, Producing, and Special Effects. Displaying his artistic ability from a young age, he found his favourite medium of expression through film. He has worked on children's cartoons as an assembly editor and a remastering technician. From the moment Steven heard about the idea for this documentary he knew that it was something that needed to be made and needed to be heard by people.

Kurtt Robinson

Sound Mixer | Sound Editor 

Kurtt is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Sound and Video Editing. Film & Television has always been his passion, since a young age when he was making com tech videos and YouTube videos. While he enjoys video editing, he hopes to take his passion of sound into the industry to create amazing and immersive soundscapes and sound effects. 

Alex Buckenroth

Assistant Picture Editor

Alex is a second-year BFTV student specializing in Video Editing and Visual Effects. Getting hands-on experience with cameras and editing software in high school sparked his passion for video creation. He hopes to take his skills to the post-production department of television, organizing and assembling TV dramas and reality shows. 

Bernice Chu

Director of Photography

Bernice is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Cinematography and Sound. Ever since picking up the camera and studying music at a young age, she knew the film and television industry was where those creative outlets could be found. She hopes to one day work within the camera department or location/post=production sounds, creating impactful and fun content through what we see and hear. 

Céleste Gagnon

1st Assitant Camera

Céleste is a third-year BFTV student specializing in Cinematography. She has always been very artistic, studying visuals arts, analog photography and cinema. Although film is her passion, she loves anything related to camera work, she wishes to try working for film and music festivals as well as travel to East Asia and find work there. 

BEHIND THE SCENES