World Summit 2009 Presenters: John Drew

John Drew grew up in Peru, Malaysia, Bolivia and Venezuela before arriving in the U.S. to attend college. After graduating from Duke University with a degree in economics, John began his career in journalism as a writer and later, as an associate editor for a non-profit political monthly in New York's Hudson Valley. It was during this period that John began experimenting with digital video and began freelancing as a shooter on music videos, T.V. pilots and the feature, Racing Daylight, starring David Strathairn and Melissa Leo.

In 2007, John was awarded a private grant to pursue a documentary project about the U.S.-Mexico border, marking his first foray into video journalism. Within six months, John, along with colleagues Clara Long, Sophia Dengo and Ben Fundis, launched the interactive multimedia website Borderstories.org, and traveled all 2000 miles of the borderline, shooting, editing and immediately uploading over 20 highly provocative vignettes that profoundly explore the contentious reality of U.S.-Mexico politics. In December of 2008, the website won the top prize at the Every Human Has Rights Media Awards held in Paris in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations declaration of Human Rights. It was also nominated as a finalist in the *Best in Video Journalism *category in the 2008 Online News Association awards.

Border Stories has since been turned into a feature length documentary and will make its world premiere in October at Mexico City's 2009 International Documentary Film Festival.

Admittedly still curious about the power and role of documentary story-telling, John Drew is currently pursuing a masters degree in media studies at the New School in New York City and is awaiting a new round of funding to launch another interactive multimedia website about garbage and the perils of unbridled human consumption.

[Border Stories]

[Racing Daylight]

[Every Human Has Rights Media Awards: Border Stories]