Two second-year students produce short film about rare polio-like illness for National Geographic

Nicol and Schilling recently traveled to Moorpark, a small town in Southern California, to produce a short film about Lucian Olivera, a young boy who began experiencing paralysis in his legs when he was 11 months old. In the film, Lucian’s mother, Erin Olivera, reflects on how her family has coped with the mysterious disease.

“It was a real privilege to be allowed into the Olivera family and get so much intimate access,” Nicol said. “Lucian was such a dynamic kid. It was a heart-wrenching story, but because he was so upbeat and because Erin, his mother, was so involved, it was actually inspiring and you could tell the family was going to be ok. Hopefully, this story can help raise the profile of this rare illness.”

The film was produced under the guidance of the J-School’s Investigative Reporting Program.

“[The IRP] provided an amazing opportunity for grad students to work with veteran investigative reporters and producers to tell this important global story on polio for an iconic outlet like National Geographic,” Nicol said.

The film and accompanying article written by Nicol will be part of a broader multimedia package on the global battle against polio that National Geographic will publish later this month. Other J-school students, the IRP, and a local production company, Black Beard Films, will also contribute to the news package.