Team
In his 25 years producing for FRONTLINE, Martin Smith has covered the world: from revolution in Central America and the fall of communism in Russia, to the rise of Al Qaeda and the war in Iraq. Smith was among the first journalists to investigate Col. Oliver North's clandestine network and one of the first western reporters to investigate the emergence of Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network.
Since 1998 Smith has been with RAINmedia, an independent production company which has produced over 20 hours of programming for FRONTLINE including: Hunting bin Laden (1999); the four-hour series Drug Wars (2000); and three documentaries looking at the roots of 9/11 -- Looking for Answers (2001), Saudi Time Bomb? (2001) and In Search of Al Qaeda (2002).
Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Smith has produced four films on Iraq for FRONTLINE: Gangs of Iraq (2007), Private Warriors (2005), Beyond Baghdad (2004) and Truth, War and Consequences (2003).
Most recently Smith produced The Storm (2006), an Emmy Award-winning look at Hurricane Katrina and the state of America's emergency response system and Return of the Taliban (2006), in which he reported from the forbidden tribal areas of western Pakistan.
He is currently working on two films for FRONTLINE which will air in the fall of 2008 -- “Heat” about business and climate change and “The War Briefing” about the real policy options the next president will face .
Smith's work for FRONTLINE has taken him to Afghanistan, China, Comoros, Colombia, Germany, India, Iraq, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Yemen.
Smith has won every major award in television including two duPont Columbia Gold Batons and four Emmys. He's also been a three-time recipient of the George Polk Award for Investigative Journalism and a four-time winner of the Writer's Guild Award. Smith is a member of the Oversees Press Club and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Marcela Gaviria is an award-winning filmmaker with RAINmedia in New York City. Over the last eight years she has produced 15 documentaries for PBS FRONTLINE, including six films on post-war Iraq.
Working with longtime FRONTINE producer and correspondent, Martin Smith, Marcela has earned nearly every major award in broadcast journalism, including the 2005 Emmy for “The Storm,” the prestigious 2003 du-Pont Columbia Silver Baton for “Truth, War, and Consequences,” the 2002 duPont-Columbia Gold Baton for two post-9/11 films, “Looking for Answers,” and “Saudi Time Bomb?”; and an Emmy and a George Foster Peabody Award for the four-hour series “Drug Wars.” She is also the recipient of the 2008 Peter S. McGhee Fellowship award, which honors an individual whose work reflects excellence, intelligence, fairness, passion, and scholarship.
Marcela's work for FRONTLINE has taken her to Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, the Palestinian Territories, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, and Korea. Most recently she made her sixth trip to Baghdad for "Gangs of Iraq."
In 2007 she produced “The Medicated Child,” a documentary about the dramatic increase in the prescription of psychiatric drugs for children. This film is a sequel to a film she produced in 2000, titled “Medicating Kids.”
She is currently working on a documentary, called “The War Briefing,” which will air October 14, 2008.
Before joining RAINmedia, Marcela field-produced documentaries from Latin America for PBS and the BBC. Marcela was born in Bogota, Colombia, and obtained her BA from Brown University and her MA from Columbia University.
Chris Durrance joined RAIN media in 2001. He has worked on eleven FRONTLINE documentaries since then, most recently as a co-producer on "Return of the Taliban," about the tribal areas of Pakistan. Other productions include "House of Saud," a history of US-Saudi relations, a dual biography of President Bush and Senator Kerry, called "The Choice 2004," and "Truth, War and Consequences," a report on the decision to go to war in Iraq.
He is currently working on a two-hour film about climate change that airs on PBS in October.
Chris moved to New York in 1999 and worked at an animation studio and web design company after a career in foreign and economic policy-making in London and Brussels.
He has a Masters degree in economics from London University and a BA in languages from Cambridge University, England.
Margarita Dragon began her career working as a field producer for GMA Network News, the leading news organization in the Philippines. While at GMA, she worked on numerous documentaries including "Kidneys for Sale" and "The Boxer," both of which won the George Foster Peabody award, making GMA the first Asian news organization to win the prestigious award.
In 2001, she moved to New York City where she began working for RAIN media. Since joining RAIN, she has produced three documentaries for FRONTLINE/World, including "Islands Under Siege" exploring the challenges facing the embattled Moro Islamic Liberation Front, an Islamic guerilla group in the Philippines struggling for independence, "After The Wave" covering the people of Aceh, Indonesia, who in the wake of the Tsunami try to hold on to an unexpected peace while seeking justice for the atrocities of the past, and "Requiem," a tribute to reporters who have put their lives on the line and dared speak truth to power.
Margarita has also produced "Telling the Truth: The Best in Broadcast Journalism," a documentary that highlights the winners of the prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.
Margarita Dragon is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in Film and Television.
Will joined RAIN media in 2006 and has since worked on three projects for FRONTLINE, including "Inside Hamas," about the aftermath of the 2006 Palestinian elections, and "Gangs of Iraq," about the American effort to train Iraqi forces. Most recently, he was co-producer of "The Medicated Child," a look at the debate over prescribing psychiatric medications to children.
He began his film career working for Oscar-winning producer Edward Saxon. As Saxon's director of development, he worked in both New York and Los Angeles, shepherding projects at several major studios. Then, moving from features to documentary, he was the associate producer on "Einstein's Letter," part of the Emmy-winning History Channel series 'Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America'.
Will moved to New York City in 2000, where his first job was on the editorial staff of The New Yorker. He grew up in Toronto and graduated from Princeton University with a degree in comparative literature.
