Manville ad man’s documentary garners award

The Galvanek & Wahl Advertising Agency received an Aegis Award for ‘Two Women, One Journey.’

By: Audrey Levine
   Images of children kicking a ball outside and digging in the grass contrast with those of infants and others in a clinic, bandaged and submitting to physical examinations on a daily basis. Soft music plays in the background as an announcer describes children, many under the age of 10, who are dealing with disease, rather than playing outside.
   These scenes are part of one Main Street business’s award-winning documentary as it strives to bring attention to an overseas issue that is being improved upon because of the donations of an American company.
   Galvanek & Wahl Advertising Agency, on South Main Street, received an Aegis Award for its documentary "Two Women, One Journey," about a mother and daughter who studied medicine in England, then traveled to Lesotho, a small landlocked country surrounded by the country of South Africa, to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic with money and support from Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation.
   "The women trained in England, then went back to help children and train others to help fight the disease," said Paxton Galvanek, partner and CEO of the firm, producer of the documentary and Manville resident.
   The documentary was sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, which developed "Secure the Future" in 1999, a program to combat HIV/AIDS in women and children in different areas of Africa. As of 2005, Mr. Galvanek said, it had committed $150,000,000 to the work.
   Mr. Galvanek developed an in-house production office at Bristol-Myers before opening his Manville agency, so the company often sends its projects to him.
   The agency, Mr. Galvanek said, is in a perfect location in Manville because it is equidistant from much of his client base in New York City and Philadelphia.
   "I said we should pick a location that’s easy between the two," he said. "And I’ve lived here (since 2003) because I knew I would be traveling to New York City and Philadelphia."
   Mr. Galvanek said he is also pleased to be living in Manville because of many of the changes that are being made in the borough, and especially on Main Street.
   "I like the fact that the borough is starting to redevelop," he said. "There are more high-profile businesses on Main Street, like a printing press, and other more professional places."
   Mr. Galvanek said his piece was one of the winners in the documentary category for the Aegis Awards, having received a high enough score, 92, to qualify. Entries – which are judged by professionals on the basis of storytelling, composition, directing and other factors – must receive a score between 85 and 100 to be declared a winner. Judges rank the videos on a scale of one to 100.
   "It was an honor to get the trophy," Mr. Galvanek said of the glass teardrop-shaped piece. "I am extremely proud of it."
   The documentary was also honored with a 2007 Aurora Award, an independent film and video competition that judges pieces in a manner similar to that of the Aegis Awards.
   "I was proud to produce this documentary," said Mr. Galvanek, who also wrote the script and picked the music.
   The 10-minute documentary takes viewers into the lives of people dealing with the disease every day, while still trying to go about their daily activities.
   "This documentary is putting the issue in front of the people," Mr. Galvanek said.
   It follows Dr. Edith Mohapi, director of the Raylor-Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence, and her daughter, Dr. Lineo Thahane, of the Pediatric Aids Corps in Lesotho, as they struggle to help children stricken with HIV/AIDS.
   In addition to commissioning the documentary, Bristol-Myers Squibb is in the process of building seven different clinics throughout Africa. As of now, three — in Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho — are fully functional, and two are being constructed in Burkina Faso and Uganda.
   According to the information in the documentary, about one in four adults in the land-locked African country of Lesotho is stricken with HIV and about 20,000 infants and children are infected. Unfortunately, until June 2005, only about 20 children in Lesotho were receiving treatment.
   Mr. Galvanek said Bristol-Myers Squibb approached him to produce the documentary because he had done freelance work for them before opening his company in 2003.
   Although many of Mr. Galvanek’s clients are companies in New York City and Philadelphia looking to make commercials, he said they jump at the chance to create documentary pieces such as "Two Women, One Journey."
   "There are good stories to tell," he said. "And this is more personal than hearing it on the news."