By Leila Merrill
LOS ANGELES — “Emergency!” stars Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe have added award-winning director Tom Putnam to their latest project, a documentary about the day-to-day work and lives of EMS providers throughout the U.S., they announced this week in a news release.
“After viewing Tom Putnam’s dynamic and intuitive body of work, I feel fortunate to have him as our director,” said Mantooth, co-executive producer of “Into the Unknown: The Paramedics’ Journey.” “In embracing our vision, Tom will bring the same clear-eyed, cinematic brilliance that he has displayed in his past films.”
Putnam is an acclaimed director, producer and editor. According to IMDB.com, Putnam is known for his work on the documentaries “Burn” and “Marwencol.”
“Burn,” which is about Detroit firefighters and was directed and produced with Brenna Sanchez, won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. It also raised funds for Detroit firefighters through the Leary Firefighters Foundation.
“I’ve spent the past 12 years filming first responders and I’m incredibly honored to tell the stories of the paramedics who sacrifice so much to keep us all safe,” said Putnam. “We’ll be sharing the intimate, action-packed experiences of brave men and women from across America in a way audiences have never seen before.”
The documentary creators are trying to win approval to shoot in Baton Rouge, and a public meeting on the subject is scheduled for Feb. 23.