Cleveland Film Company

The young film makers led by Travis Pollert and Jacob Kostelli from the Cleveland Film Company joined Ken Fogle on one of GoL NEO’s mission trips into Haiti, Pre Covid, to create a short promotional film for GoLNEO.

The film team became engrossed in what was being done and the barriers to be overcome to save these dying children. They decided to stay for the entire trip and captured hundreds of hours of film. They created a documentary that tells the story of just one Gift of Life mission trip. “Open Hearts” takes the viewer from Dr. Jeff Kempf’s home in Akron, Ohio to St. Damien’s Hospital in Port au Prince, Haiti. The film exposes the drama of working in a developing world with the visiting Italian Surgical team, ICU support team from Akron Children’s, and numerous other healthcare nationalities working alongside the St. Damien’s Doctors and medical personnel as they face the dilemma of deciding who among the 80 children will be the 12 to get the needed surgery for a chance to live.

The film was accepted to the 2021 Chagrin Documentary Film festival where it won the “Service Above Self” award for the film that best exemplifies the spirit of giving in the world. The film was picked up by distributors Gravitas Ventures for North American distribution and can be purchased by clicking here.