Client: Yap Films

Story Productions had been producing news reports on Brazil’s epidemic of mosquito-borne illnesses throughout 2015 and 2016 for PBS NewsHour with Miles O’Brien, Seven Network with Mike Amor and USA Today. This gave us the background and the contacts to do a thorough and informed piece of research about this fast-growing international health crisis. 

Our researchers in Recife – a hotspot for the zika outbreak in 2017 – did location recces, sourced key health experts and cast local residents living in fear of infection, in preparation for a shoot in Recife. Mosquito’s director, Su Rynard, described in The Washington Post   how zika went from being a mere footnote to an integral part of the documentary:

“in the course of this last year while making the film, it [zika] went from something people had never heard of to a crisis according to the World Health Organization.” We kept Yap up to date on vital zika developments throughout pre-production, while our bilingual fixers and ruthless planning meant we could give the Yap crew agile support on the ground throughout filming. 

In addition to the Recife shoot, Yap filmed at Oxitec, a biotech company in the interior of São Paulo state which uses genetic engineering to combat the wild mosquito responsible for the spread of dengue, zika, and chikungunya. We were able to give Yap the peace of mind that their visiting crew, as well as the bespoke camera equipment they were using to film a protaganist no bigger than a finger nail, were in safe hands in Brazil and with the necessary paperwork in order; we obtained ANCINE permits for the crew and provided transport and private security throughout the shoot.