ADAO’s 16th Annual International Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference September 17 -18, 2021

2021 Conference Info | Honorees and Keynote Speakers | Registration | Agenda | Friday “Art, Advocacy, and Shared Stories” Film Festival | Saturday Academic Conference | Sponsors | Media | Meet the Speakers Blog Series | Previous Conferences |

Posted on May 14, 2021

Introducing ADAO’s Film Festival: “Art, Advocacy, and Shared Stories”, a new addition to our 16th Annual Asbestos Awareness and Prevention Conference, and the first ever Asbestos Film Festival! Although we can’t get together in person, we still want to highlight amazing artists who have used their platform to spread awareness about asbestos and asbestos-related diseases. On Friday, September 17th, we will hear from Julie Gundlach, Richa Patel, Laura & Bob Kuzmick, Dr. L Christine Oliver and screen two documentaries and one short film followed by a brief conversation with the award-winning filmmakers.

The event will include: 

  • “The Mother” by Paolo Monico
    • When a hardened widow receives an unexpected visit, she is given the chance to shed light on her husband’s death. Starring Mary Testa, Boris McGiver, Michele Hicks and Sylvia Kauders.
  • “Breathless” by Daniel Lambo 
    • Following the deaths of his father and many others from his village, filmmaker Daniel Lambo  sets off on a passionate quest to find the truth about the deadly  asbestos industry. His search takes him to the largest asbestos waste  dump in India and unveils a cold-blooded industry still endangering the  lives of workers and consumers around the world. A gripping story on the fight of individuals against a booming asbestos industry.
  • “Dirty Laundry” by Conor B. Lewis and Zack Johnson 
    • Two cousins journey across the United States by bicycle, fueled by a curiosity about their elderly grandmother’s sudden passing from a rare cancer, mesothelioma, and uncover a trail of broken families bound by asbestos.

We hope you can join us on Friday and Saturday for a weekend filled with education and advocacy. 

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Zack Johnson is a filmmaker and adventurer from Alton, Illinois. Since a young age he has always had a video camera in his hand but he never thought it would take him anywhere. A natural storyteller, Zack is always looking to give and get a good laugh – he realized a video camera was another way to make that happen. A simple guy who wants and needs for very little just lives his life to be a story worth listening to in the end. He is a friend of nature and finds great peace when hunting, fishing, and trapping – most often with his dog, Doc. 

Conor B. Lewis obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts, and began his career in digital media at an agency in St. Louis, Missouri. Here he cut his teeth, shooting productions for large national and international corporations. After several years spent in agency life, Lewis was recruited by a large metropolitan St. Louis firm, to manage their in-house creative team. This move created the flexibility to shoot “Dirty Laundry”, the 2018 asbestos documentary. Lewis grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where he resides today with his wife Molly, his daughter Elizabeth and his dog George. He spends his free time riding bikes and on his other “full time job” as a painter.

Daniel Lambo is a Belgian film director. He creates films on themes as human rights, social inequality and poverty. Lambo’s first feature film, Miss Homeless (2010), was written, produced, directed, filmed and edited entirely by himself. This docu-fiction about homeless people in Brussels premiered in twelve different countries on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Dry Branches of Iran (2012) deals with censorship during the Green Revolution in Iran and De Figurant (2016) takes on racial stereotypes with a story about a drug dealer who has acting ambitions. In his latest feature, the documentary Breathless, Lambo investigates the delocalization of the asbestos industry to developing countries.

Paolo Monico has been running an enduring and successful career in directing commercials and music videos for the past 20 years. He writes, directs and produces short films and web content through his NY-based production company and he is currently developing “The Suit,” a limited series based on “The Mother,” his award-winning short film inspired by the mystery surrounding the death of his father, Sandro, who passed away in 2002 from mesothelioma. Born and raised in Italy, in 2006 Paolo moved to the US, became an American citizen and a proud member of the Directors Guild of America.