Karina Sturm

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  • Black and white photo of Karina, a woman with short brown hair, a black hat, a black shirt is sitting behind a camera with a microphone attached.

Short Bio

Karina is a multi-media journalist and filmmaker from Germany who has lived in San Francisco for seven years. She gained significant scientific knowledge through studying laboratory technology and working in research for several years. Due to a chronic illness and invisible disability, she found her passion for media production and has been working as a freelance journalist since 2013. In 2019, she finished her Master’s degree by producing a feature-length documentary called ”We Are Visible” to highlight how to improve reporting on people with disabilities in media. ”We Are Visible” has won several movie awards, while Karina graduated with distinction from her journalism program. Karina’s main focus is to represent people with illnesses and disabilities accurately in the media to reduce biases and stereotypes. She thinks disabled journalists should be reporting on disability.
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New Projects!

Logo Props No More, which is a purple microphone and text: Disabled Creators Tearing Down Media Barriere
he poster features a woman wearing headphones and speaking or singing into a microphone. She looks forward with focus. The background is turquoise. At the bottom of the poster, large white letters spell "Proud Stutter" on a bold magenta background. Blue wave lines, resembling sound or audio waves, run over the title. Below the title, in smaller white text, it reads: "A film by Karina Sturm." At the very bottom, on a red background, it says "Chronic Pain Partners Presents."

Film Projects

Film Festival Laurel: Official Selection Commffest Global Community Film & Arts Festival 2021
Black film festival laurel: Annual nomination, CFIFF, Changing Face International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature, 2021
Festival Laurel: Official Selection, Meraki Film Festival, 2021
Black letters on white background: Official Selection, Accolade Global Film Competition, 2019

Articles

Audio

Ian Harding

Ian Harding is an actor, teen choice award winner, author, and passionate bird lover. Besides being known for playing Ezra Fitz, a controversial character on the show Pretty Little Liars, the 34-year-old is a passionate advocate for people with lupus, an empathetic son to a mother with the chronic condition, and an ally to people with disabilities around the globe. Journalist Karina Sturm speaks with Ian about his childhood in Germany, his acting career, his work for the Lupus Foundation of America, a future film project, his most kept secrets, the items he would bring to a deserted island, and disability language and ableism. 

Listen to my interview with Ian HERE.

Haben Girma

ABILITY Magazine’s journalist Karina Sturm met with Haben Girma, disability rights advocate, author and first deaf-blind Harvard Law school graduate on a sunny day in Palo Alto to speak about Haben’s advocacy, her book, the White House, the ADA, education, and employment for people with disabilities and much more.

Listen to my interview with Haben HERE.

Proud Stutter Podcast

ABILITY Magazine’s journalist Karina Sturm met with Maya Chupkov, co-host of Proud Stutter, a podcast trying to shift the narrative around stuttering. In this episode, Maya talks about growing up with a speech disability, why she created Proud Stutter and what she has learned from her advocacy work. Find out more about Proud Stutter on their website: https://www.proudstutter.com

Listen to the episode HERE.

Blogposts

Logo Props No More, which is a purple microphone and text: Disabled Creators Tearing Down Media Barriere
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Props No More: Redefining the Scene: Beyond Representation to Authenticity

Props No More is an intersectional documentary produced by GADIM (The Global Alliance for Disability in Media) and highlights disabled creatives and their efforts to change the stereotypical narrative around disability. The feature-length documentary…
A close-up of a woman wearing headphones and speaking into a microphone. She has light brown, shoulder-length hair with blonde highlights. She looks forward with focus as she speaks into a black, professional studio microphone attached to a flexible arm. The background is blurred and neutral.
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Proud Stutter

Summary:  Proud Stutter is a short film featuring Maya, who grew up with a stutter she believed she needed to overcome, embarking on a transformative journey of self-acceptance. Realizing that stuttering is simply another way of…
a hand with purple gloves in a lab with a pipette
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Norris Lab Finds HEDS Gene: Kallikrein

Chronic Pain Partners is excited to share a significant breakthrough from the Norris Lab regarding hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS). After a long wait, the research, spearheaded by Dr. Cortney Gensemer, identifying a genetic variant…
The picture shows a young woman with straight, shoulder-length pink hair and glasses, sitting on a bed. She is wearing a light blue hoodie and black pants. To her right, there is a dog lying on the bed. The room has a red wall behind the bed, and there is a framed picture of a cat above the bed. On the left side of the bed, there is a small round mirror on the wall and a bedside table with a lamp. The bedspread is pink and white with a floral pattern.
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Filmmaker Andrew Abrahams on the New EDS Documentary ‘Complicated’

Chronic Pain Partners' Karina Sturm was honored to speak with Andrew Abrahams, who has been directing the new Ehlers-Danlos documentary Complicated. Abrahams is an award-winning, two-time Academy Award-shortlisted producer/director of…
The picture shows a person smiling at the camera, wearing a tie-dye shirt with yellow, pink, and blue colors. They have short hair, glasses, and a black neck brace with white trim. On their face, there is a small flower-shaped patch on their right cheek. They are holding up a feeding tube. Behind them is a background of various stuffed animals.
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Complicated – the must-watch documentary on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

A new documentary on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Complicated, will soon be released. Chronic Pain Partners was honored to preview the film, which dives deep into many of our community's challenges. Directed by award-winning and Oscar-shortlisted…
A collection of surgical tools
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Outcomes of Craniocervical Instability Fusion Surgery in People with EDS

A recent study by Henderson et al. found significant benefits for EDS patients with severe craniocervical instability who underwent occipito-cervical fusion surgery.  Craniocervical instability is one of the most severe neurological…
Book Cover Disjointed which shows a break between two lava stones with lave in the middle
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Books on Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

With growing awareness about the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes, varying resources in different types of media developed over the last years. Our Chronic Pain Partners’ Team is collecting their favorite books, podcasts and films on EDS and its comorbid…
A collage of several images in varying colors of social media icons and the face of a person
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EDS Advocates to Follow on Social Media

The Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes may be considered a group of (mostly) rare connective tissue disorders; however, our community is more diverse and stronger than ever, with many advocates sharing their experiences and knowledge via social media.…
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A New EDS Clinic Coming to a Town Near You (Via Telehealth)

Chronic Pain Partners is excited to speak with David Jameson Harris, a former McKinsey consultant, about his latest project, a new Ehlers-Danlos syndrome clinic, hopefully offering access to expert EDS care in several states starting in February…

  • Blogging

    Personal experience and information on Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and other chronic conditions and disabilities.

  • Podcasting

    Part of the German Podcast “Die Neue Norm”

  • Public Speaking & Advocacy

    Talks about EDS, chronic illness, invisible disabilities & guest blogs, podcasts and more.

  • Disabled Journalist

    Chronic illness & disability / medicine & science journalism

  • Filmmaking

    Accessible documentary films about people living with chronic illnesses & disabilities.

  • Author

    German book about ableism and medical book about EDS