The Filmmaker
Nick Martin is a documentary Producer-Director and Editor in Chicago. Nick’s family history in Central and Southern Africa has instilled a deep connection and interest in issues relating to post-colonial Africa. Over the past ten years Nick has extensively explored sub-Saharan Africa by land from Cape Town to Zanzibar, and relishes long rides on slow trains.
His previous documentary films include Memorial M.I.A., a short film that explores the ‘misplacement’ of Chicago’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and The Air Over Pilsen, a documentary chronicling the impact of environmental pollution on the community of Pilsen, a predominantly Latino neighborhood on Chicago’s near southwest side.
Nick has also collaborated on numerous short and feature-length narrative films as director and editor, including co-directing Petersburg, a feature length adaptation of Andrei Bely’s novel, and editing Sean J.S. Jourdan’s award winning film, An Open Door, which has screened at over 25 film festivals worldwide. He teaches film production at Columbia College Chicago.
The Narrator
Alison Cuddy is a host, editor and senior producer at Chicago Public Radio, one of the largest public radio markets in the United States. Currently she co-hosts the station's award-winning daily newsmagazine program Eight Forty-Eight, which covers the news, politics and culture of the Chicago region. Previously Alison has been a guest host on the weekly arts program Hello, Beautiful! and has hosted special call-in programs for the station. Alison is also the senior producer and editor of Chicago Matters, a year-long multi-media series examining various topics of interest in the region, including this year's focus on the environment and sustainable development.
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Alison joined the staff of Chicago Public Radio in August 2001 as associate producer for the nationally-syndicated talk program Odyssey. Prior to joining Chicago Public Radio, Alison worked in the Immigration Department of ThoughtWorks, Inc. in Chicago, and was an adjunct professor at DePaul University as well as a teaching fellow at the University of Pittsburgh. She holds an M.A. in English from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.F.A. in Cinema Studies from Concordia University in Montreal.
