News / Profession

Kansas Chiro. Assn. Video Wins Film Festival Medal

Editorial Staff

The Kansas Chiropractic Association's video, "The Doctor of Chiropractic," won the silver medal at this year's Worldfest-Charleston International Film Festival in the Medical/Public Health division of the film and video production category. Several MDs sat on the panel that judged this division.

The Worldfest is the largest film and video competition in the world, based on the 3,000 entries it receives, and has earned international recognition in the film and television industries over the past 27 years. Directors Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, David Lynch, and Oliver Stone won their first significant awards at the Worldfest.

Indicative of the festival's renown are the written remarks President Clinton sent to the attendees: "By spotlighting the talents of directors, scriptwriters, and actors from nearly 40 countries, this festival reflects the universal love of movies and moviemaking. I know you will enjoy being among the first people to view films and videos created by some of today's most talented and creative artists."

"The Doctor of Chiropractic" video, filmed on location at Logan and CCC-Kansas City, was designed to take legislators on a "tour" of chiropractic colleges (see "Chiro Education Video Deliver to Capitol Hill," Sept. 12, 1994, "DC"). It offers a brief description of chiropractic that includes a synopsis of the studies that document its effectiveness, and concludes with a thorough explanation of the extensive professional training that DCs receive.

In August of 1994, the KCA delivered their video to the 535 offices of every U.S. senator and representative in Washington, D.C. KCA also made the video available to all chiropractic state associations, an effort to get the video into the hands of the 7,461 state legislators country-wide.

"When we entered Worldfest, we didn't really know how deep the water was," explained KCA President Dr. Darrell Fore. "We've since learned that this competition is like the Academy Awards for videos. We're very proud and we accept the award on behalf of the entire chiropractic profession." Dr. Fore gave much of the credit of the video's success to producer Anita Harnett, of HMS Advertising in Overland Park, Kansas. "She is the one who took our script and applied state-of-the-art technology," he said. "We hope future chiropractic productions will make use of her talents and expertise."

KCA video committee chairman Dr. James Edwards said the video was the brainchild of the late Steve Dickson, the KCA legal counsel who died tragically in a plane crash along with Dr. Stan Heard in September of 1993, when the two men were returning from a lobbying trip to Washington, D.C. The video was dedicated to Mr. Dickson's memory. "This video is our way of insuring that Steve's dedication to this profession is never forgotten," said Dr. Edwards.

The KCA video even caught the attention of Worldfest founder and director J. Hunter Todd: "I had the opportunity to personally view 'The Doctor of Chiropractic' video. It is a quality presentation. I was even more impressed when I learned it was the first video that the Kansas Chiropractic Association had produced."

The video is still available: contact the KCA at 1334 S. Topeka Blvd., Topeka, KS 66612, tele. (913) 233-0697. The price is $34.95 plus $4.00 shipping and handling.

January 1995
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