CFW Newsletter - Edition 7

FILM

A Yarn With Jaan: CF Documentary Film in the Works
By Kate Treloar

Link's Kate Treloar catches up with film graduate Jaan Kiploks before he heads off to Canada and the UK to make a documentary about a range of issues relating to CF…

Kate Treloar: What will your documentary look at?
Jaan Kiploks: While my process for the doco is to film everything and anything and primarily make the story when I edit it back home, some things I'm going to focus on are:

• Things that need to be addressed when traveling with CF (which can also be adapted to traveling with an illness in general);
• Doing some research into different CF communities and comparing them to Australia; and
• Trying to find out why the awareness of CF is so low in Australia compared to some other countries.

KT: Why are you doing this project?
JK: At first it just seemed to make sense. I have a film degree, I have cystic fibrosis and I'm going traveling for a few months. It almost seemed wrong not to do something like this. Plus, I know from personal experience that a doco like this would definitely benefit quite a lot of people in the CF community alone. About a year ago I was thinking that I would be able to travel solo for an extended period of time, so if something like this was out then it would have been really useful for me.

KT: How are you feeling about it?
JK: I go through stages of nervousness, enjoyment, excitement, apprehension – just about everything. Sometimes it feels like it's too big a project for me to take on, then I steady myself and take things one step at a time and it seems more manageable that way. But overall I'm pretty excited and very interested to see what I come up with.

KT: How is your trip being funded?
JK: I've been saving since the start of the year, so the majority has come from me. The other major donation has been from the public at a fundraiser for the trip. We raised over $3000, which was enough to pay for most of my film gear. So the flights, accommodation, insurance, meds and living costs are being provided by me, and the doco gear has been donated in a sense by the public. I've also had a few specific things such as headphones, a travel nebuliser and tapes donated by companies.

KT: Have you done a big trip like this before?
JK: I've never done anything on a scale such as this. I've been overseas a couple of times with family, but only for a few weeks at a time. I have been to a few destinations around Australia with friends, but again the longest duration was only a couple of weeks. This is definitely a first for me. Not just the timeframe or location, but also the fact that I will be traveling completely solo for the majority of it.

KT: Have you got any advice for other people with a disability or illness contemplating a major trip?

JK: Until recently I wouldn't have known what to say about traveling with an illness. But since I've started to plan my trip, while at the start it was quite daunting and looked like there was going to be too much to organise, I've found out that really all you need is a little bit of preparation and organisation, and things will easily sort themselves out. Of course you need to take a few more precautions (such as what to do if you get sick or need medical help, or lose your meds, or the basic knowledge of how to deal with the airport security with bringing meds on board the plane), but these shouldn't really stop you doing something like travel. I'm sure I will know more about it when I return, but I know that it will be an amazing experience, and it's really something that shouldn't be stopped by your illness.

To make a donation to this project contact the Cystic Fibrosis South Australia organisation: www.cfsa.org.au

Mr Kiploks is keeping an online blog during his travels, so for updates or to contact him visit: http://healthyjaan.blogspot.com

Reproduced with permission from Link Disability Magazine, October 2005.
For more information visit: www.link.disability.com.au