Kevin Molloy, our beloved colleague who ran the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Programme from 2018 until he passed away in 2021, helped shape and mentor a new generation of tobacco harm reduction practitioners. Joining us today are Jeffrey Zamora, a film maker and THRSP Scholar, as well as Kevin's wife Anne Molloy, and Jon Derricott, Kevin's long-standing friend, to highlight Jeffrey's new film "Love Kevin".
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Joanna Junak: This November we attended the premiere of Jeffrey Zamora's latest project titled Love, Kevin, a story about the life of Kevin Molloy, our colleague who worked on developing the tobacco harm reduction scholarship program and who passed away in 2021. I asked Jeffrey about the reasons for creating the movie. as well as asking Anne Molloy, Kevin's wife, and Jon Derricott, Kevin's long-standing friend, to share their thoughts after watching the movie. Let's listen to the interview and hear from Kevin's loved ones. Jeffrey, why did you decide to make a movie about Kevin and his work?
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Jeffrey Zamora: I believe his story is really a great story that has not been told enough. The Love Kevin video actually is pretty much like it's the title. It's a story about love, love to second chances, love to harm reduction, love to people, love to helping people, love to his family. There's a lot of love involved and I do think that that's a story that needs to be told, that we need to get the people that are in the forefront of harm reduction they need to tell their stories a little more because there's a lot of things that are behind the people, behind the mission of getting a public health breakthrough when it comes to harm reduction. There's a lot of stories behind that I do think that they deserve to be told or needed to be told.
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Joanna Junak: And what is the purpose of the scholarships? Why are they important?
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Jeffrey Zamora: Well, the scholarship program offers an opportunity to many of us that we have a specific project and to get it out there. Unfortunately, when it comes to harm reduction, the funding is never enough. We don't have the needed funding to do a lot of projects. And, you know, and in top of that, the mentorship that is required to do a lot of things on this particular project that I have worked closely with, for example, John Derrick, which he's amazing as a coach, as a guide when it comes to the whole filmmaking aspect. in top the opportunity that is given to me by KAC and the Tobacco Harm Reduction Scholarship Program to be able to travel to the UK to move across biggest, you know, really long distances and moving a lot of equipment and all that stuff to be able to film the interviews. It's something that is, you know, it's not easy to get. And the scholarship programs offer this opportunity for people like me that are know looking for a way to tell these stories so what role did kevin play in development of the program well he started he started all you know um and it's something that is told on the original on the longer version of the of the video perhaps not on the one that we just see uh we just saw but on the local version the story is that um Jerry was speaking with Derek about the, you know, about taking people to the GFN. And Derek apparently told Jerry that they wanted to be a little more ambitious, right, and start funding some projects. And then they called Kevin to start the scholarship program. And he kind of shaped it. at least the initial stages and then John became part of that movement and they gave birth to this spectacular initiative that is the scholarship program and now you know 150 almost 150 people that they have been part of the scholarship program is a testament of a lot of success a lot of great initiatives a lot of great Effort that they have put on it and a lot of rewards when it comes to the whole movement at itself Thank you
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Joanna Junak: And what are your thoughts after watching the movie about Kevin?
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Anne Molloy: Watching the movie, you get a whole load of different thoughts. I mean, emotional, because I'm seeing all those lovely pictures and sharing the life of Kevin. On a personal level, it's lovely to have a film made about your husband. So, you know, feeling very proud for him, a lot of joy and a lot of emotion behind it. But the film more than just the finished product, which is amazing, it was the process. And I'm very much come from an arts background where I've worked in community arts and know the power of arts to change people's lives. And Jeffrey coming and working with me as a person who was two years you know grieving for my husband, he came very gently worked with me and helped me to go back over Kevin's past and to get out our family archive and the albums and and share those with him. It was quite a cathartic process and it was lovely for him to take his time with me and be so understanding that it was a difficult process. And I think what he's come up with in the end is a beautiful film that shows Geoffrey's love and care for people within the process of documentary filmmaking. So I was really impressed.
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Joanna Junak: was really impressed as well thank you so much thank you thank you john what are your thoughts after watching the movie about kevin well i'm in it so um and i have seen it before i think it's powerful film and it's a real
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Jon Derricott: testament to Kevin it's a real legacy for Kevin for Kevin and his family but for other people to to understand more about harm reduction it's a very human story and I think that will hook people in who are not particularly interested in tobacco harm reduction or harm reduction in general but the story of Kevin brings people into that and it's really important that we increase the audience, the constituency for people to understand harm reduction. So it does a really, really good job of that.