“CONNECTING THE WORLD”
The Weekly (The New York Times / FX)
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
Connecting the World, an episode of The New York Times' documentary series The Weekly, investigates a global network of online romance scams in which fraudsters impersonate American servicemen to target women seeking connection online.
As director and producer, Rolake helped shape the story from reporting through production and post, following the investigation from the United States to Lagos, Nigeria. In Lagos, she pushed the film beyond familiar narratives about online fraud to examine the economic and social forces surrounding the scams — and to hear directly from the people behind them about the choices, pressures, and circumstances that shaped their lives.
Connecting the World received a 2020 News & Documentary Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Newsmagazine.