SCARS OF NANKING is an Emmy Award-winning original docudrama for A+E Networks, History Channel and Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp. shot in China, for which I was executive producer, writer and producer (trailer below). Directed by John Ealer with cinematography by John Cavill, it is the little known story of American missionaries who chose to stay and safeguard civilians during the infamous Rape of Nanking—and who also smuggled key evidence of the atrocity to the west. The program was nominated in two Emmy categories, Cinematography and Editing, and won for Outstanding Cinematography. Article on International Co-Production   VideoAge Article   I also produced, wrote and directed an accompanying two-hour documentary, Scars of Nanjing: 80 Years After, for History Asia and Jiangsu TV (China).

In the scene (below) from the Emmy Award-winning History Channel docudrama SCARS OF NANKING, American missionary Minnie Vautrin faces down Japanese soldiers trying to enter a refugee camp during the 1937 Nanking Massacre. Written and Produced by Frederick Rendina, directed by John Ealer, Cinematography by John Cavill, edited by Melanie Foo Campbell, Executive Producer: Frederick Rendina

Theodore Roosevelt official History Channel trailer

Over a three year period, I produced, directed, wrote and edited updated versions of numerous programs for A&E, which aired on AETN international networks and Biography Channel USA:

Biography Series

  • Anne Frank

  • Vladimir Lenin

  • Al Pacino

  • Bob Marley

  • Raquel Welch

  • Ferdinand Porsche

  • Enzo Ferrari

  • Bruce Lee

  • Silvio Berlusconi

 

Investigative Reports Series

  • Raw: Girls, Gangs and the Hood

  • Turning Out the Red Lights: Human Trafficking and Prostitution

  • Dangerous Deception: Counterfeiting

Some samples below...

 

 

A&E Biography: Anne Frank    This new opening features the only known live-action film footage of Anne.
Narrator: Katina Kalin  
Anne Frank voiceover: Lauren Berst

 

A&E Biography: Anne Frank    Dutch schoolchildren begin their tour of the Anne Frank house.​ Through their eyes we tell the story.
​Narrator: Katina Kalin  
​Anne Frank Voiceover: Lauren Berst

A&E Investigative Reports: Turning Out the Red Lights     This updated look at human trafficking and prostitution examines new laws in Sweden and an attempt to limit the number of prostitute windows in Amsterdam.  The scene shown here takes place the morning after a prostitute is murdered in Amsterdam's famous Red Light district.
​Narrator: Tom Reidy

A&E Biography: Bob Marley       This updated version features new interviews with Marley's backup singer Judy Mowatt, author Kwame Dawes and reggae expert Carolyn Cooper. Scenes shown here include Bob Marley Day in Kingston, Jamaica, and a powerful account of the legend's funeral as told by Judy Mowatt.
​Narrator: Rod McCormick

PBS Wide Angle: "Time for School"  This award-winning series on global education was filmed in seven countries around the world every three years. I ​field produced and shot three cycles of the program in the poverty-plagued Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.

National Geographic on Assignment: "Mystery of the Megaliths"      An anthropologist leads a team of students on a quest to solve an ancient mystery.  Produced while based in Dakar, Senegal.