ABC News direct from Haiti
The earthquake that devastated Haiti on February 12 left tens of thousands dead or homeless. ABC News was one of the first news channels to report on location from the disaster area.
Producer José Cohen and three crews from Mexico joined the ABC News crew in Port-au-Prince the day after the earthquake leveled great parts of the city. SInce then, daily news reports of rescue efforts and recent developments have been broadcasted across the US.
For the past three weeks José Cohen has been a key person in organizing the airlifts for ABC News personnel and supplies between the base camp in Haiti and the strategic logistical center in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.
Cameramen Gaetan Mariage, Gregory Allen and Martín Guzman, as well as soundmen Andrew Donaldson, Claudio Osorio and Bernabe Salinas spent weeks on ground zero in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, documenting the devastation.
Images of a disaster: Shot for ABC News by cameraman Gaetan Mariage and soundman Andrew Donaldson.
Dr. Besser Assists in Haitian Baby’s Birth
“Which Way Home” to the Oscar®!
Cactus Film is proud to announce that Rebecca Cammisa’s Documentary “Which Way Home” has been nominated for an Academy Award® in the Best Feature Documentary category. Cactus Film served as the office and production support during the shoot in Mexico.
“Which Way Home” tells the story of a few unaccompanied migrant children as they journey through Mexico to the U.S. on a freight train called “The Beast”.
2009
Mexico Before Thirty
The Day of the Dead celebrations in Oaxaca, surfing the world-renowned Zicatela beach in Puerto Escondido and going to a Lucha Libre match in Mexico City are all things you can't miss out on doing before turning thirty. At least that's the opinion of Australian TV-channel XYZ, who visited Mexico in November to shoot for the TV show B430.
The Cactus team set up the multi-location shoot and Lara Rodriguez accompanied the Aussies on their short, but intense, tour of Mexico.
Cactus links Mexico and Japan
On Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard’s recent tour of the land of the rising sun, Cactus Film provided the transmission services of footage for all national Mexican media.
During the visit Ebrard participated in the Annual Meeting of the Science and Technology Forum in Kyoto, as well as visited a hydrogen car factory in Hiroshima and Mexico City’s sister city Nagoya.
Cactus provided the reception facilities and recorded all footage on mini-DV tapes as well as on DVD on the client’s request. The material was used by Mexican TV stations as well as newspapers.
Up close and personal with Mexican boxer Marquez
Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez’s preparations for the big fight with Floyd Mayweather were well covered by HBO’s program 24/7. Cactus Film & Video provided production services including fixing, coordination, shooting permits, transport and security for the duration of the one-month shoot in Mexico.
Indigenous Chihuahua
The steep mountains and deep canyons of the Sierra Tarahumara, in the northern state of Chihuahua, are some of the most incredible natural sites in Mexico. When BBC Factual came to shoot a program set in a tiny Tarahumara village producer Lara Rodriguez organized the production.
Though beautiful, the village lacked basic infrastructure, so the months before the shoot were spent setting up a functioning production camp including toilets, showers and a power generator to charge equipment. During the shoot Lara and translators / production assistants Ylva Mossing and Laura del Aguila provided a cultural bridge between the locals and the British production team.
All eyes on Mexico during flu epidemic
While Mexico suffered an outbreak of a previously unknown flu virus that had the whole world on alert, the international media was reporting live from Cactus Film & Video.
Since day one, starting with the announcement of the outbreak of swine flu/influenza A H1N1, Cactus Film hosted a large number of international TV crews covering the situation on location. Producer José Cohen, cameraman/editor Gaetan Mariage and their local production team worked closely with ABC News correspondents Terry McCarthy, Jeffrey Kofman and David Kurley during their coverage from Mexico City, Oaxaca and La Gloria, Veracruz, which included an interview with the Mexican Health Secretary. Lara Rodriguez stepped in as the producer for the BBC team sent in especially from London. Cactus also permanently hosts the Al Jazeera English team, who was visited by their Arab counterparts for the duration of the crisis.
During a busy week TV networks from countries as far apart as Japan, Argentina, Sweden, Australia or France all transmitted live from Cactus Film’s roof position overlooking the Mexico City skyline. Epidemiologists, analysts, journalists and ambassadors played their part in explaining the development of the situation to their respective countries. Cactus also provided crewing, equipment and play-outs for a wide range of foreign clients.
Some ABC News Videos from Mexico:
25 April 2009 - Fear over potential Flu Pandemic
26 April 2009 - Swine Flu hits Mexico
02 May 2009 - Inside the Swine Flu Crisis Center
03 May 2009 - Mexico Ground Zero for Flu
04 May 2009 - Reunited after Swine Flu
The Drug War
The war between drug cartels and Mexican authorities, with an ensuing escalation of violence especially along the US-Mexico border, has drawn the attention of news media from all over the globe.
Ciudad Juarez earned the not very flattering moniker of Mexico's No. 1 Murder Capital in 2008, and 2009 began with some of the bloodiest months in the city's history. Cactus Film has been on the frontline of the international coverage from Cd. Juarez, where producer José Cohen set up an embedding with the Mexican army and an interview with a cartel hitman for a special report for ABC News's Nightline with Terry Moran.
Producer Lara Rodriguez was in charge of a series of live reports for Al Jazeera English in Culiacán, Sinaloa, on the drug war. Together with producer Roee Ruttenberg, cameraman-editor Gaetan Mariage and correspondent Franc Contreras, she has covered most aspects of Calderon's war on drugs for this international news network.
Some ABC News Videos from Mexico:
15 April 2009 - Calderon: Border Fence is Unfriendly
16 April 2009 - President Calderon Speaks Out
Some Al Jazeera News Videos from Mexico:
07 April 2009 - Mexico in the Crossfire - News Special
2008
ABC News - Butterflies and baby boomers
The monarch butterflies's return to Mexico is always an anticipated event, but lately their winter habitats have been threatened by illegal loggers. Producer José Cohen and ABC News joined the federal forces on an operation against the environmental criminals.
75 million American baby boomers are heading toward retirement and the low cost of private nursing care in Mexico is an attractive option for many. ABC News visited Mexico's first assisted-living development aimed at the U.S. market, in San Miguel de Allende.
2008
This international documentary series shows presenter Simon Reeve's travels along the Tropic of Cancer. The Cactus team coordinated the entire Mexico part of the production, from finding contacts and locations to logistics, permits and field production. Among other things, local producer José Cohen set up an embedding with the Federal Police in Sinaloa drug country.
For a couple of intense weeks the team travelled the width of Mexico, from Baja California’s coasts and slum towns in the west, stopping to revisit Durango’s golden past as a cinematic center in Mexico, looking into the mines of San Luis Potosí, finally to end up in the ring in Mexico City...
US Election Coverage
The months leading up to the historical date of November 4 were filled with questions about who would win the US elections and how it would affect Mexico. Cactus Film provided extensive coverage on Mexico's hopes and fears for the future for both ABC News and Al Jazeera English.
Al Jazeera English
Heading up to the elections, Cactus Film was in charge of two live broadcasts for Al Jazeera English: an election debate panel discussion in Tucson, Arizona, and a live broadcast of Mexico reactions on the night of the US elections. Cactus provided everything from pre-production, crew and equipment to satellite uplinks.
ABC News
Producer José Cohen coordinated the coverage of John McCain's visit to Mexico City during his presidential campaign, including an interview with the ex-secretary of public security in Tijuana.
Festival news
Papalotzin bags price in Spanish festival
Cactus Film is proud to announce that the Festival de Cine del Aire El Yelmo in Spain awarded our documentary Papalotzin – Flight of the Monarch Butterfly with the price for Best Documentary on Nature in Flight.
Life on the Line wows the Middle East
We are proud to announce that our documentary Life on the Line won the Jury’s Price in the Short Film category at the Aljazeera International Film Festival. Read Press Release.
Press clips about Life on the Line:
http://www.cronica.com.mx/nota.php?id_nota=360278
http://cineastaregio.blogspot.com/2008/05/cineasta-mexicano-gana-primer-lugar-en.html
http://www.reforma.com/libre/acceso/acceso.htm?urlredirect=/gente/articulo/440/879432/
