Adding to the message: NM native Amber Midthunder stars in latest 'ENDWI' campaign

Dec. 24—Drinking and driving.

It's a hot-button issue in New Mexico.

RK Venture has worked with the New Mexico Department of Transportation on its "ENDWI" campaign for years.

Its latest video campaign is called "Left Behind."

The third piece called "Sole Survivor" is currently airing. It features New Mexico native and rising star Amber Midthunder.

The campaign examines the impact of drunk driving on those left to pick up the pieces after a deadly accident.

Nick Tauro, RK Venture broadcast creative director, and his team shot the project on 35mm film.

"The challenge is always trying to come up with a unique way to tell a story," Tauro says. "We've tried many different approaches. With this one, we were really looking to find a way to tell a story about people who are really the innocent victims of drunk driving. The people in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Tauro says the director David Garcia felt like there was a cinematic feel and made the move to shoot on 35mm.

"I'm a photographer and I love to shoot film," he says. "It wasn't a hard sell and what was created is an amazing video with a huge message."

It was Garcia's idea to reach out to Midthunder to gauge interest, Tauro says.

Midthunder has appeared on the TV series, "Legion" and "Roswell, New Mexico." She also was the lead in the Hulu film, "Prey," which has catapulted her into the mainstream.

"To get Amber to be in it was a shot in the dark," Tauro says. "We made the appeal that it's a public service message for her state. She agreed and totally knocked it out of the park. Without saying any words, she could express this loss and fear. This is why she's building a really successful career."

The production was filmed in one day in Downtown Albuquerque.

"We took over an intersection Downtown and shot in three different directions," he says. "We didn't have to move crew and optimized our locations. Every direction looks different. It made the production go so much quicker."

"Sole Survivor," is currently airing statewide on television and radio in English and Spanish, and is also being promoted online via multiple social media channels throughout the holiday season.

"The incomprehensible suffering caused when lives are lost due to a drunk driving accident can't be overstated," says Richard Kuhn, owner and executive creative director of RK Venture. "A ripple extends to victims' families, friends, colleagues and communities. With the campaign, we've highlighted, via poignant personal scenarios, how one person's bad decision can upend many lives forever."