• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, Yesterday

On June 10 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, Eli Lilly and Tribeca Studios debuted the first three short films funded under their new “Vital Stories” incubator program that was formed to empower emerging filmmakers to create more accurate and authentic portrayals of disease and patient experiences.

“Vital Stories” grew out of Lilly's research conducted with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, which found an overwhelming lack of accurate health representation in film and television.

Lina Polimeni, Lilly’s senior vice president and CMO, consumer, told me that the creators of the three films received mentorship, workshops, industry guidance, development support -- and access to a content creation toolkit designed to “help them think critically about how health narratives are crafted and shared, while encouraging more authentic and inclusive portrayals.”

The directors were then left alone to make their films.

The three shorts, all focused on female protagonists, tell stories involving Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes.

The standout for me was “Do I Know You From Somewhere?,” a half-hour film written by and starring Angela Wong Carbone. It starts out like a political thriller focused on Kimmie, a for-hire master of disguise and deception. It then veers into the poignant relationship between Kimmie and a mom who no longer recognizes her. Finally, Kimmie’s two sides come together for a satisfying conclusion.

I also liked “Run It Back,” a 17-minute look into the trying first day of parole for Sweet Tea, played by its writer, Tiffany “Tiny” Cruz. Rather than dwell on the fact that Sweet Tea came down with diabetes in prison and now needs to inject insulin, those matters are treated largely as a plot device: Her mother comes across her syringes and, determined to keep her beloved daughter away from drugs, gets rid of them. Needless to say, “Run it Back” is not a comedy.

I was less enamored with “Reconstructing Charlie,” a 23-minute excursion built around a young mother’s upcoming mastectomy following a divorce. As she and a friend go on a pre-surgery weekend “boob bucket list,” the drama gets a bit overwrought with soap opera-ish hysterics having little if anything to do with our heroine’s breast cancer.

I asked Polimeni for her favorite film, and as you might expect, she wouldn’t bite.

“I honestly don't have a favorite,” she stated. “Each film explores a different disease experience through its own unique creative lens. Together, they demonstrate that authentic portrayals of patient experiences and compelling storytelling can go hand in hand.  What I'm most proud of is the diversity of perspectives represented across the films and the care each filmmaker brought to telling these stories.”

Polimeni told me that the development support isn’t over for the three filmmakers (who, for the record, are Carbone and Alan Scott Neal for “Do I Know You From Somewhere,” Cruz and Abby Pierce for “Run It Back, and Lara Everly for “Reconstructing Charlie”).

The three films may be developed into long-form features or series, she said. I can envision watching Kimmie in a full-length effort, or following the adventures of Sweet Tea in episodic form, and maybe even making it through“Reconstructing Charlie” as a romcom.

“One of the original goals of Vital Stories is to help build a sustainable pipeline for more authentic, human-centered storytelling around disease,” explained Polimeni.

“Storytelling can shape how people understand disease. When patient experiences are portrayed with authenticity, empathy and nuance, it can help reduce stigma, encourage more informed conversations and ultimately support better understanding of health.”