NEW DOCUMENTARY, THE CALLING, FOLLOWS STUDENTS AT ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE IN THE BRONX AND SETS ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT DC/DOX IN JUNE
THE MEDICAL COLLEGE MADE HEADLINES IN FEBRUARY 2024 WHEN IT RECEIVED A $1 BILLION DOLLAR DONATION FOR FREE TUITION FROM LONG TIME PROFESSOR, RUTH GOTTESMAN
New York, May 28, 2024 – Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®-winning HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and leading producer and distributor Cineflix Media, along with Emmy®-winning producers American Issues Initiative and First Story Productions announced today that THE CALLING, a documentary set at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, will make its world premiere at DC/DOX on Sunday, June 16, at 3 p.m. ET at Washington D.C.’s Landmark E-Street Cinema. The film is directed by Emmy® and Peabody winner Asako Gladsjo (The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross). It was also produced with additional support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
This announcement comes following news that the school was gifted $1 billion dollars from long-time professor and board member Ruth Gottesman in February 2024. Renowned for its commitment to promoting diversity in medical professions, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine will use the donation to directly benefit its students by paying the full tuition of every student attending the school from August 2024 onward.
THE CALLING tracks the professional and personal experiences of a dynamic and diverse group of medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx over the course of an entire year. Filming inside Einstein and its world class teaching hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, the film chronicles the students’ personal hopes, fears, and incredible growth as they navigate challenging issues, including medical inequity in the American health system.
Tracking back and forth between multiple cohorts of students, audiences are introduced to the characters in the various stages of medical education. As first-year medical students learn to balance the grinding schedule with their lives outside of school, third-year students find out what it’s like to care for and treat patients as they begin their clinical rotations. THE CALLING culminates in the pivotal fourth year, when students balance their clinical rotations with applying for and waiting to hear where they’ll land for their hospital residencies.
“Every student we filmed with, including a few who didn’t end up in the final cut, impressed us with their dedication and brilliance,” says director Asako Gladsjo. “Maybe Einstein attracts a special breed of students; their decision to pursue their medical education in one of America’s most underserved communities proved that they weren’t afraid to face challenges.”
“The pandemic has only served to drive home the urgent need for medical care, especially among the nation’s underserved communities; consequently, our next generation of medical heroes face an even more daunting path to becoming medical doctors,” says Executive Producer Charles Tremayne. “THE CALLING will focus on the intense stories of these students who must balance a spectrum of conflicting emotions while mastering cutting-edge care.”
“The journey of these students is both revelatory and inspiring,” says Head of Tangled Bank Studios Jared Lipworth. “It’s important for both general audiences and aspiring young physicians to see what the medical school experience is actually like, especially at an institution so committed to serving a historically underserved community.”
Principally financed by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, the Alfred P. Foundation, and Cineflix Media, THE CALLING received additional funding from Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Blavatnik Family Foundation.
“We are proud to support the production of THE CALLING, an important documentary that examines the special hurdles faced by BIPOC medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center,” says Doron Weber, Vice President and Program Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and an Executive Producer for the film. “By highlighting individual stories, this insightful film sheds much-needed light on the disparity in quality and access to medical care for disadvantaged communities, as well as the unique challenges for those members of this community who seek to improve an unfair system.”
“The financial commitment of Sloan along with two other leading foundations is compelling testament to the importance and timeliness of this dramatic story,” says Executive Producer Timothy Smith, who developed the project.
Executive Producers are Timothy Smith for American Issues Initiative (Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, Surviving West Point), Charles Tremayne for First Story Productions (21 Up America, First 48, Sinking Cities), Wilma L. Davis and Sean B. Carroll for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios (All That Breathes, The Serengeti Rules, The Farthest, Inventing Tomorrow), Doron Weber for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and J.C Mills (Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of the Midnight Cowboy, Summer Qamp) for Cineflix Productions.
Cineflix Productions is co-producing the project as part of Cineflix Media’s partnership with Tremayne and First Story Productions.
About First Story Productions
First Story Productions was founded by executive producer, Charles Tremayne, to create and produce documentaries and scripted programming based on compelling true stories. Located in New York, the company has projects with various broadcasters and streamers.
About HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios is a mission-driven impact studio that crafts awe-inspiring films where science is a lens for making sense of our world. The studio is uniquely positioned to shine a light on some of the most significant scientific challenges and breakthroughs of our time. Recent films include Emmy Award-winners The Serengeti Rules and The Farthest – Voyager In Space; Emmy-nominated Nature’s Fear Factor and My Garden of a Thousand Bees; Peabody Award winner Inventing Tomorrow; and Oscar-nominated All That Breathes, the only documentary to win best documentary at both Sundance and Cannes. To extend the reach and impact of each film, the studio undertakes educational and public outreach efforts in partnership with mission-driven organizations. For more information, please visit WWW.TANGLEDBANKSTUDIOS.ORG.
Independently owned and creatively led for more than 25 years, Cineflix has never lost the belief that creatives are core, and a win-win commercial approach is what brings great content to the world.
Cineflix creates, produces, and distributes must-watch TV for the global marketplace with operations in Montreal, Toronto, New York, London, and Dublin. A leading international media company, the Cineflix group includes Cineflix Productions, Cineflix Rights, and Cineflix Studios, as well as joint venture companies Buccaneer, Connect3 Media, Husk Media, and Shiny Screens Entertainment. Cineflix also share strategic partnerships through first-look deals and co-productions with a hub of producers from the US, UK, and Canada. With a catalogue of more than 6,000 hours of select programming across a wide range of genres, Cineflix is behind some of TV’s most popular and long-running shows.
Cineflix Productions, led by President and Head of Content J.C. Mills, is a leading creator and producer of must-watch content for global networks and streamers. With production and development hubs in Toronto and New York, the company is responsible for creating some of the longest running brands in cable: Property Brothers, American Pickers, Air Crash Investigation, and Property Virgins—with its reboot for A&E’s Home.Made.Nation. Our feature documentary lineup includes Nancy Buirski’s acclaimed film Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Midnight Cowboy, and Summer Qamp which has its World Premiere at TIFF, chronicling the stories of LGBTQIA2S+ campers and counselors. These titles join a slate of compelling shows like Betting on Paradise, coming soon to HGTV US; A&E’s two-part special The Torso Killer Confessions; HGTV Canada’s hit series Rock Solid Builds; A Time to Kill with more than 100+ hours; as well as tentpole TV movies Abducted off the Street: The Carlesha Gaither Story for Lifetime, Undercover Holiday for Hallmark Channel, and I Was Lorena Bobbitt for Lifetime, winner of Best TV Movie at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards. Cineflix Productions is part of the Cineflix Media group of companies.
For more information, please contact:
Brooke Fisher
Brooke Fisher PR for Cineflix Productions
310-993-3694
Vanessa Marra
Cineflix Media Inc.
514-576-1796
Anna Irwin
HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
(301) 215-8861
irwina@hhmi.org