Vital Stories, Sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, is an initiative to empower emerging filmmakers to more accurately and authentically represent disease in content. The program culminates this June at the Tribeca Festival with the world premiere of three original short films. Each film was developed with access to a new content creation toolkit launched by Lilly and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, intended to help storytellers craft more empathetic, inclusive portrayals of real patient experiences.

Premiering Projects include:

Do I Know You From Somewhere?
Facing her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and the crushing cost of care, struggling actor Kimmy takes a clandestine, lucrative side gig impersonating strangers’ loved ones. As her mother’s symptoms and the dangers of her job escalate, Kimmy must decide who she's willing to become to keep her mother safe.

Writer: Angela Wong Carbone
Director: Alan Scott Neal
Producers: Grace Merriman, Yoko Kohmoto
Cast: Angela Wong Carbone, Fiona Fu, Jodi Long, Laura Esterman, Alison Bartlett

Reconstructing Charlie
Charlie’s long-awaited “post-divorce glow-up” gets hijacked by a breast cancer diagnosis, leading her to move in with her picture-perfect sister for recovery. The two decide to have one wild “last night out for the boobs!”, sending both their lives on a crash course in sisterhood, second chances and letting go.

Writer/Director: Lara Everly
Producer: Claudia Chakmati
Cast: Emily Arlook, Brooke Lyons, Ian Reier Michaels

Run It Back
Sweet Tea’s first day out after serving a five-year bid unravels fast: a wild welcome-home party, an awkward boyfriend, spiking blood sugar, and a parole officer who reminds her that her freedom is conditional.

Writer and Director: Abby Pierce
Story by: Tiffany ‘Tiny’ Cruz
Producer: Hannah Welever
Cast: Tiffany ‘Tiny’ Cruz, Clarence Maclin, Alpachino Howard, Alysia Velez, Irma Cadiz, Marisa Razo, Ricky Staffieri