Her Story

...through his Lens

    After Nancy Pando, LICSW, left her position as director of a major medical center’s clinical social work department, her desire for creative work was never stronger. She did what she does best. She carved a door into space and with no safety net; she  jumped. For years she wanted to make a documentary film. So, she grabbed her new camera phone and set out to be a part of something new and exciting; something she took to like she had been doing it for years.
    Nancy can be summed up in a very simple description: She is a free spirited, creative, logical thinker that doesn’t care much for convention, the word ‘no’ or the traditional traditions of filmmaking. She is someone that can analyze the brain of a scholar and unlock the mind of a juvenile criminal and not once feel like it is atypical of anybody else’s daily life experience. A combination of motherly instincts, clinical decision making and a vast knowledge of the workings of the human condition make her a Producer, not just of films but of a new example of viewing life. Making her something not so simple after all.

 

 

His Story

...through her Lens

Only the humblest of us would drop the title of physician at first introduction.  That’s just what Dr. Ryan Flesher did when I met him. It was disarming, yet telling.
The youngest of 6, the world of film was woven into his family life. From an early age, Ryan saw life from the lens of both observer and participant. Able to see both sides, he developed an insight that allowed for him to see beyond one’s outward appearances and into the heart of one’s emotions.  This keen understanding, combined with his academic talents and altruistic nature, were a natural fit to becoming a physician.
Soon after leaving the nest of his residency in emergency medicine, he would discover a surprising truth: being a physician in United States means that you stand alone. Having realized a dream, only to discover its harsh reality was, to say the very least, a deep disappointment. Staffing cutbacks, angry patients, bed shortages: each night, a speeding train. Every single day, he felt forced to practice medicine with his hands tied by upper management, insurance companies, systems problems and the like. Ultimately, what it demands of Dr. Flesher is something he cannot give. To know him is to understand that which he holds most sacred: integrity.
I would come to understand why, when I first met him, his eyes were hollow. The practice of medicine had carved a wound in him that only his love of film could begin to heal. Ryan is a trailblazer with courage that is buried deep in his bones.  
Rare is the person, let alone a physician, who risks its all; brave is the one who believes that achieving one goal can be the blessed start of another.  

 

Their Story

An unlikely duo in some ways: he loves cats. she loves children. Ryan thinks in red paint; Nancy thinks in green ink. He is so savvy technologically he could teach film tomorrow; She has just learned how to use her camera phone. Nancy searches for the light, Ryan goes for the dark. Sometimes it feels like she is over here humming “The Rainbow Connection” while Ryan is over there listening to “Raining Blood”. While they tend to come from opposite ends of the scale, they somehow manage to land on middle C.

The two are in sync when it comes to their desire to live a life that feels right and purposeful. They have a natural affinity for protecting the vulnerable and tend to think globally. They have no use for the color beige or the music of Nelly. They connect the dots from an aerial view of the world and come up with their own theories. Creative thoughts ripple inside of their brains like lightning when it has been forced underground; energy zips and burns until it finds an outlet and then it explodes. Ryan and Nancy met, simply put, because they are supposed to make this film and the time is now. Though making this documentary has been like leaning into one of those football sleds and pushing it across the country, they have never thought of stopping. Not even when frustrations could have sent them spinning off the earth, have they entertained the thought of giving up.

To the greater good, Nancy and Ryan have had the privilege of meeting hundreds of people across the nation. There are physicians and others in the healthcare field who have been willing to share their innermost thoughts and welcomed the film crew into their homes and into their families. It is these friendships made throughout this film that Ryan and Nancy cherish most.