Saving lives with data in Costa Rica

A vision of health: Saving lives with data

I was asked to to tell the story of Luis, a Costa Rican data analyst who literally saved hundreds of thousands of lives when, at the start of the pandemic, he (by trying to find a simple way of explaining to his mother how serious Covid could be) created a software model and ended up being asked to personally build a team to advise the Costa Rican president. 

Authenticity was key but by summer 2022 any media relating to COVID was deeply unpopular. Instead of focussing on the pandemic I decided to make the film’s theme be more about how one individual can create massive change. Luis is a humble man and felt uncomfortable with the heroic pedestal he was being put upon so I brought in a second voice to share the storytelling. This meant Luis could simply relay the facts whilst Timothy, a government employee and important character to the story, could describe the amazing results that Luis was too modest to.

I was flown over to Costa Rica where I had to rapidly build relationships with and successfully manage a large local crew, despite differences in language, culture and working practices. It was a privilege and the fresh fruit, delicious coffee and wonderful local hospitality made this the highlight of 2022 for me.

CREW

Director  – Alun Pughe

Exec Producer – Amy Goodman

Producer – Shaun Sawyer

Production Manager – Hannah Holden

Costa Rica Producer  – Michael Araya

DoP – Sebastián Vega

Editor – Nick Ralph

1st AD – Ana Lucia Arias

Runner – Arturo Pardov

Camera Assistant Juan Quesada

Gaffer Roberto Valerio

Grip – Geovany Quesada

Audio Technician Erick Vargas

Data Manager Andrés Rojas

Art Director Assist Mauricio Esquivel

Camera And Light Driver Maikol Sojo