Hidden in the Leaves focuses on tick-transmitted disease

KINGSTON, R.I. — August 7, 2007 — Mary Healey Jamiel, an independent filmmaker and assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island, teaching jointly in Film Media and Communication Studies Departments, will have her documentary-in-progress, Hidden in the Leaves, screened at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. The documentary, still in production, will be shown on Saturday, August 11 at 4 p.m. at the URI Feinstein Providence Campus, 80 Washington St. The film is listed as TICKS in the festival’s catalogue.

The documentary focuses on URI entomologist Thomas Mather and his team�s efforts to help people see the risks for tick-transmitted disease that lurk in an increasing number of rural, suburban and even semi-urban landscapes in the eastern United States-maybe in your own backyard. The filmmaker, along with Mather and his team of scientists, will be at the screening to answer any questions about the film and to provide useful tick-bite prevention information.

The documentary examines factors that led to the emergence of Lyme disease and related infections and why, despite general awareness of these risks, the impact of tick-transmitted diseases on society continues to expand at an alarming rate.

More than 717,000 Rhode Islanders are at risk for encountering a deer tick where they live. The film�s objective is to expose the hidden dangers that ticks represent and spotlight strategies to avoid them and their diseases.

Healey Jamiel’s independent film Holy Water-Gate http://holywater-gate.com/ received a 2004 CINE Golden Eagle Award for excellence in investigative journalism, and Best Documentary at the 2005 Rhode Island International Film Festival. Holy Water-Gate aired on SHOWTIME NETWORKS, CBC Canada, DR DENMARK and SSR/TSI – Swiss Italian Television.

For more information about ticks and tick bite prevention, go to URI’s tick encounter resource center website: www.tickencounter.org.