Kelly Duda

Kelly Duda is an American filmmaker and activist from Arkansas. Duda spent seven years making "."

"Variety magazine" described Duda as "a pit bull with a bureaucratic bone" who "follows subjects fearlessly and ventures into hostile environs (and) comes away, most of the time, with the information he wants to get." Variety described Factor 8 as "hard-headed journalism" stating, "one of the things that hits the viewer in 'Factor 8' is that Ken Starr spent more than $40 million trying to pin something on then-President Bill Clinton, and missed what Duda found via sheer leg work."

The American Film Institute remarked, "Kelly Duda's dedication to the truth is an inspiration—this expose wears his heart on its sleeve, refusing to let the victims die in vain."

Duda was also part of the team for Fuji Television that produced 'The Hepatitis C Epidemic: A 15-Year Government Cover-up'. The program won a George Foster Peabody Award in 2003 and was reportedly watched by more than 12 million viewers in Japan.

On July 11, 2007, Duda testified at the Lord Archer Inquiry on Contaminated Blood in Westminster, U.K. (Parliament). The British inquiry aims to uncover the British government's part in a scandal that led to thousands of infections and deaths. Duda gave evidence as to the United State's role in the tragedy in what Lord Robert Winston has dubbed as "the worst treatment disaster in the history of the National Health Service".

In addition, Duda was the "go-to" contact in Arkansas for Robert Greenwald's controversial documentary ',' and has contributed to 'The ACLU Freedom Files.'

On September 20, 2007, Kelly Duda traveled to Jena, Louisiana with students from the University of Central Arkansas to participate in the Jena 6 march for justice.

Kelly Duda is co-founder, along with Lanette Grate, of the West Memphis Three Injustice Project, a 501(c)(3) organization. Duda is also the president of the board. The board members include Grate, Mara Leveritt, Amanda Lamb, and Dennis Devine. The mission of the West Memphis Three Injustice Project is to help exonerate inmates of the Arkansas prison system whose innocence can be proven through scientific means such as DNA testing -- with the cases of Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley and Damien Echols, otherwise known as West Memphis Three, being the first chosen by the group.A long-time supporter of the cause to free the West Memphis 3, Duda joined the WM3 advocacy group Arkansas Take Action in 2007. However, he soon became concerned about financial opacity and irregularities associated with the Damien Echols Trust Account, which seemed to be getting all the funds raised at WM3.org. These concerns were shared by Dan Stidham, Jessie Misskelley's original attorney, now a judge, and confirmed by Jason Baldwin's attorney, John T. Philipsborn. The WM3IP demanded transparency and accountability in WM3.org's fundraising process, so that all three wrongly convicted men could benefit from financial donations, not just one. As a direct result of the WM3IP's efforts, reforms have begun.

Kelly Duda was one of the judges in the Documentary category of the 2008 Little Rock Film Fest.

External links

*imdb name|2209211
* http://www.factor8movie.com Factor 8: The Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal website
* http://www.wm3injusticeproject.com/