Heartland: Aaron Winneroski of Driven 2 Save Lives

The documentary director talks about the partnership between the Indiana Donor Network and the racing community to promote organ donation

For Heartland Film Festival schedule and tickets, please click here.

Film Yap: How did the Indiana Donor Network get the idea to turn the story of the Driven 2 Save Lives program into a feature-length documentary?

Aaron Winneroski: I currently serve as the Creative Lead, Photography and Video Production at Indiana Donor Network. Our marketing team is constantly thinking of creative ways to spread the message of organ donation to Hoosiers and beyond. Our leadership is great about encouraging us to “think big.” My co-worker, Taylor Mclean (Bryan Clauson’s sister) approached me in June 2023 about creating a short docuseries consisting of four, ten-minute episodes. Each would focus on a piece of the Driven2SaveLives story and someone with a connection to donation. As I was reviewing the footage, I realized it would make for a much better all-encompassing documentary. I brought the idea to my team, and we didn’t look back. 

FY: What were the biggest challenges you faced in telling this story?

AW: I think the largest challenge was scheduling and having a small crew. If you watch the documentary, there are a lot of stories to keep track of. My team did a great job with this though.

FY: Tell us a little about your own filmmaker journey and what brought you to this point.

AW: This is my first feature film. Before this, the longest film I made was a 22-minute short my senior year of college back in 2017. I started making silly YouTube videos with my brother back in 2010. I received a BA in Media Communications in 2017 from Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. In school, I focused almost entirely on documentary filmmaking. After school, I had a few production jobs where I continued to learn and create short documentaries on the side. In 2020, I joined Indiana Donor Network and have been blessed to have had the opportunity to create commercials, short documentaries, and now this film. I think my strengths are storytelling and editing.

FY: You've got a lot of big names in this movie. How did you get the racing community to respond to making this documentary?

AW: Taylor Mclean has done a tremendous job with the Driven to Save Lives program. She heads the day to day of D2SL and has been the one to really connect with both race fans and race car drivers. I have found that the racing community rallies around each other in really an amazing way.

FY: Talk about the relationships with the Bryan Clauson and Justin Wilson families, and the delicate balance of documenting their tragedies while honoring their legacies.

AW: It is a delicate balance, I agree. It’s a question that had me constantly thinking and assessing while editing. I am tremendously grateful for all the families in our film. They are very brave for sitting down and allowing us to tell their story. I have the ultimate respect for them. We hope that at least one of the families in this film can resonate with the viewer and together we can save lives.

FY: Normally I ask filmmakers what they hope people take away from their films, but here it seems obvious: encouraging them to sign up for organ donation. Can the movies really drive social change?

AW: Movies are powerful. Ads come and go, but movies are lasting and can make you feel something. We hope this is a film that can resonate with a lot of people and promote people to say “Yes” to organ donation when they visit the BMV to get their driver’s license.

FY: What's next for you?

AW: I am full steam ahead with trying to get people to say “Yes” to organ donation anyway I can help. This is my first attempt at making a feature film. I learned a tremendous amount that I think could be applied to films in the future. If I make another feature documentary, it will be for a cause I am passionate about no doubt.