Three short films created through an Eli Lilly-sponsored initiative will debut at Tribeca Festival, advancing the pharmaceutical company’s efforts to improve on-screen representation of people with diseases.
Last year, a Lilly-backed analysis of the top movies and TV shows of 2023 found that they rarely featured people with common illnesses. About 3% of the characters are obese, and about 40% of the U.S. population is obese, and it was often the subject of jokes. Cancer affects 0.16% of the population, and while actual treatments have improved, it remains a death sentence in media portrayals.
To improve representation, Lilly collaborated with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative to provide filmmakers with a content creation toolkit (PDF) as part of the Vital Stories initiative. Lina Polimeni, Lilly’s chief marketing officer and consumer, told Fierce Pharma Marketing in an email that the toolkit “helps storytellers paint a more accurate and empathetic portrayal of the disease and patient experience.”
“Through Vital Stories, participants received access to mentorship, workshops, industry guidance, development support, and content creation toolkits,” Polimeni said. “Our role at Lily was to provide resources and support to help authentically convey the disease and patient experience, but creative decisions were left entirely to the filmmakers.”
The three short films feature characters with Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Although the illness at least partially drives the story, it does not define the characters and is part of a broader story unrelated to their health status.
Indications that pharmaceutical companies may have been involved in this project are rare. The closest the Alzheimer’s movie comes to a point of disease awareness focused on Lily is a line in which a character reveals that she is not eligible for an amyloid-targeting drug. After medical professionals say the disease is too advanced to treat, the character’s daughter explains, “It took a long time to convince her to get tested.”
Polimeni said these projects will continue to be supported through advanced development as long-form features and series. Asked about the future of the program, Polimeni said Lilly is now focused on celebrating the success of its first effort. Polimeni added that the company remains committed to promoting more accurate and empathetic portrayals of the disease in entertainment.
