Director Kenneth A. Carlson’s new documentary, The Heart of Nuba, takes the audience to the war-torn Nuba Mountains of Sudan where an American works tirelessly to serve the people living there.
Carlson’s film covers the work of Dr. Tom Catena, who selflessly and courageously serves the needs of a forgotten people as the region is bombed relentlessly by indicted war criminal Omar Al Bashir. His patients come to him from hundreds of miles away on foot, in carts, or often cradled in their mother’s arms. At Mother of Mercy Hospital, he treats as many as 400 patients a day with ailments ranging from malnutrition and leprosy to grave wounds inflicted by the indiscriminate bombings ordered by their own president. Through it all, two things remain constant: Dr. Tom’s faith and his enduring love for the Nuba people.
Following the DGA Special Projects Committee’s Documentary Series screening in the Guild's Los Angeles Theater on September 13th, Carlson discussed the making of the film in a conversation moderated by DGA Special Projects Documentary Series Subcommittee Chair Chuck Workman (Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles.)
In addition to The Heart of Nuba, Carlson’s filmography includes the feature Special Delivery; the documentary Go Tigers!; the television series documentary America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back; and the short films Diner Formal, Dating Avi and Big Gus. He has been a DGA member since 2001.
You can listen to Carlson's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find all DGA podcast episodes here.