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Published on 03/23/1998 All articles from this issue

Interplast wins 'Best Documentary Short' at the Academy Awards

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By Beth Batchelor

Special to the Town Crier

Interplast, Inc. was buzzing with excitement March 24, the day after the Academy Awards. After all, it's not every day that one wins an Oscar.

Interplast, a Mountain View nonprofit organization that offers free surgeries to needy people with deformities, won best Documentary Short Subject for its film, "A Story of Healing."

The film was one of five nominees vying for this prestigious award. Filmmaker Kieth Merrill of Los Altos Hills also had a film nominated under the same category titled "Amazon."

Mary Spillane, spokeswoman for Interplast, said "The atmosphere was crazy," and the phones were ringing off the hook. Not only were callers congratulating Interplast, they also were wishing to donate services and money.

Interplast was founded in 1969 by Los Altos Hills resident Dr. Donald Laub. At the time Interplast was formed, he was chief of reconstructive and plastic surgery at Stanford University Medical Center.

Laub said he was ecstatic about winning, but saw the award as part of a bigger picture. He said the award "will have a very great effect on the children who desperately need help in foreign countries but who don't have access to medical care."

Laub said the award is a type of credentialing for this work. "It actually helps the United States because it raises our sense of awareness for helping other people," he said.

Filmmakers Donna Dewer and Carol Pasternak acknowledged the medical teams in their acceptance speeches. Dewer said, "Carol and I would like to thank the Academy for recognizing the selfless efforts of the doctors and nurses of Interplast. They have changed the lives of thousands of children all over the world."

In the midst of the excitement, medical teams were busy packing supplies and organizing trips. A medical team just returned from Brazil, and other teams will leave this month for Ecuador, Honduras, and, for the first time, to Laos and Cuba.

The trip to Cuba is sponsored by international affiliates along with Interplast. All other trips are sponsored by United States affiliates. Each trip lasts about two weeks and helps about 100 children.

A team leader conference will be held this weekend in Chicago, Ill. Team leaders will share their experiences, discuss strategies for managing Interplast teams, and develop plans.

For more information, call 943-4405.