For nine days in September, I traveled 10 time zones to Lahore, Pakistan accompanied by Director of Photography Mark Kohl and Sign-language Interpreter Andrea Smith and toting 10 cases of production equipment.  There we shot the second in a series of four stories about students and faculty of Johns Hopkins University to be featured at a live event May 2, 2009 on the Baltimore campus in celebration of the successful conclusion of a seven-year fundraising campaign called “Knowledge for the World”.  The main attraction of this hour-long multimedia event I will also be directing, the videos I am producing document a variety of ways that knowledge flowing from Johns Hopkins impacts our world, from reforestation projects in the Panama rain forest to a free clinic in Pakistan where deaf children learn to speak, from laboratories where amazing cures for a variety of autoimmune diseases are emerging to a mind-boggling web-based data-sharing application that enables amateur astronomers around the world to access and analyze petabytes (yes, petabytes) of raw images of the solar system.

Heady stuff. 

Kent Vanderberg shooting at Salamat Girls Campus in Lahore, Pakistan

Did I mention we went to Pakistan?  Unforgettable.  Amazing.  Somewhat unsettling, but only when we ventured off in the wrong direction.  I had read that one won’t find more hospitable people anywhere in the world, and now I can vouch for that.  The family of the woman whose story we were there to tell took us in, fed us amazing food while they fasted in observance of Ramadan, looked out for our various needs and showered us with gifts…  How often does that happen on a shoot?  We were also treated to a side trip to beautiful Islamabad.  Among other sights, we drove past the Marriott hotel.  The next day, it was attacked; just three hours after our plane took off for the trip home.  From a lounge during our layover in Abu Dhabi, we hurriedly emailed friends and family back home to assure everyone we were safe.  Then our hearts and thoughts went out to our newfound friends from whose company we had just parted.  There is nothing like experiences abroad to remind one of how small and fragile this planet we all share is, and how precious the relationships we form with one another along the way.  I might have gone to Pakistan for work, but I came back with so much more than footage.

Until next time…  Peace.
Kent

Salma and Zara Husain, the subjects of our story

Couple of friendly faces at the Badshahi Mosque