GOOD TALK WITH ROBIN BERGHAUS
Director of STUMPED
Robin Berghaus is the director of STUMPED, a documentary that chronicles the four-year journey of a professor and filmmaker, Will Lautzenheiser, after his limbs are amputated due to a bacterial infection. With the support of his loved ones and a world-class medical team, Will pursues stand-up comedy as therapy, and risks his life to undergo an experimental double-arm transplantation in the hope of reclaiming his independence. A deeply personal story, STUMPED is about resilience, committed caregiving, and the life-changing potential of pioneering medicine. Robin brings STUMPED to high schools and universities where she speaks about documentary filmmaking and the major themes of her film, including identity, risk-taking, science, health and medicine. She also partners with organ procurement organizations, medical schools and hospitals to help educate communities about transplantation, and to register people as organ donors. Robin has an interdisciplinary background in science and film. She holds a BA in biology from Boston College, and a MFA in film production from Boston University. During her six-year tenure as a video producer for Boston University, she wrote, directed, produced, filmed and edited more than 100 short documentaries and stories on a range of topics. Her work has been exhibited at the British Film Institute, Frameline, Palm Springs International Film Festival, and as part of Science on Screen, a film series sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She is a recipient of grants from LEF Foundation, Austin Film Society, Frameline and Women in Film Dallas. Her work has received dozens of honors and awards, including the Global Health Competition at Cleveland International Film Festival.