I produced and edited ProPublica’s first Emmy Award-winning documentary, “Rescuing Her Father.” The documentary, which was made for ProPublica and Frontline/PBS, prompted New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate allegations that the Queens Adult Care Center failed to protect residents from the coronavirus and misled families about its spread.

It all started with a voice message. Interim Executive Producer Katie Campbell asked me to listen to it in early April, 2020. Natasha Roland left the message for ProPublica journalist Joaquin Sapien after reading his April 2 story on the Queens Adult Care Center. The voice on that message was dramatic. And Joaquin asked Katie if we should film him speaking with Natasha—was there a video in this? Katie wasn’t so sure. She asked me to listen. I was hooked. Joaquin was filmed, discussing with Natasha over Zoom the harrowing events surrounding their abduction and rescue of her father from an assisted living facility. Initially, this was to be a short little video companion for Joaquin’s follow-up story on the Center. But in the process of writing a script for it, I realized there was much more that we could do. The script ballooned to 14 pages. But how on earth would we cover it in the middle of the pandemic? You can’t look at a Zoom conversation for more than a couple of minutes. I cut together the best parts of the interview and then edited in a bunch of “swipe” footage (stolen footage that you’d like to have, but don’t yet have) to make a real story out of the script. Katie loved it. I asked her to do the VO and the two of us collaborated on shot lists. Katie haunted the exterior of the QACC looking for ways to capture the drama that was unfolding within. With scraps of video, photos from various sources, and many bits of audio interviews, we put together a 10-minute dramatic movie that was not only a jailbreak tale but a love story to boot (which Joaquin said absolutely eclipsed his article).