Featured Films:
- Mission to Mississippi: Follows New York based interfaith group of volunteers, ages 12-75 who have traveled to Mississippi to help in the relief effort a year and a half after hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast.
Lewis Stiefel (Mission to Mississippi)
Lewis Stiefel is an award winning editor, producer and videographer with over 20 years of experience in the TV industry. For 13 years, his editing and camera work was seen on WCBS -TV, Channel 2 in New York. Working for the promotions department, Lewis was responsible for image spots, campaigns, topicals, and franchise promos including: “Shame on You,” “Eat at Your Own Risk,” and “CBS2 Investigates.” His work at WCBS garnered him an Emmy and Promax award. Prior to WCBS-TV Lewis worked as an editor for Kingworld’s “Inside Edition” and “American Journal”magazine television shows. In 2007 Pastor Chris Mietlowski from Dobbs Ferry Lutheran Church and Rabbi Billy Dreskin from Woodlands Community Temple in Greenburgh joined forces to bring 56 volunteers form their respective houses of worship including 2 other churches to help in the Katrina relief effort. Since Lewis and his family were members of Woodlands, they decided it would be a great Mitz-vah (good deed) for their 12 year-old daughter Amy, who was soon to become a Bat-Mitzvah, to help others in need. Lewis, his wife Judy and Amy had no idea how their trip would change their lives and those of others. Lewis went as one of the volunteers and did not plan on shooting a documentary (being a news person he always traveled with his video camera) however, after seeing first hand the
destruction and misery Katrina left in its wake a year and a half after the storm, he started filming. When he was done, Lewis had produced his first documentary entitled: “Mission to Mississippi.”Helping in the production of the film was CBS News correspondent Dave Browde, who
narrated; Adam Hart who performed and composed the music; and Judy Stiefel, who co-wrote the script. The film is testimony to the resiliency of the people of Mississippi who continue to cope with the aftermath of the nation’s largest natural disaster and the kindness of strangers who are offering them hope amid difficult conditions. Rebuilding the Mississippi coast could take 10-20 years….without the help of the volunteers it could take much longer. “Mission to Mississippi,” earned Lewis “Best Social Documentary”at the 2008 New York Independent International Film and Video Festival. It has also aired on PBS stations across the country including WLIW in New York. The 48-minute film is now available nationwide on Netflix and includes follow-up footage and interviews a year after the original filming.
