About Vital Stories

Launched in 2025, Vital Stories is an initiative to prioritize authentic portrayals of patient and disease experiences in entertainment. Sponsored by Lilly, this program addresses underrepresentation and misrepresentation of health conditions in media by supporting creators in telling more accurate, empathetic, and inclusive stories and bringing them to audiences on a major stage.

Vital Stories was launched in response to a landmark study sponsored by Lilly in partnership with Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. The study revealed that while millions of Americans live with a health condition or disease, characters with five of the most prevalent health conditions (obesity, cancer, dementia, diabetes, and atopic dermatitis) rarely appear on screen in film and television. When they do, they are often reduced to stereotypes or one-dimensional roles.

The Vital Stories program has provided creative development and mentorship to a select group of talented screenwriters and directors dedicated to authentic portrayals of health and treatment. This included the nineteen projects who attended our inaugural Creative Summit, and the three projects to be produced as short films to premiere at Tribeca in June 2026.

2025 Creative Summit & Participants

Run It Back

Series

Co-Writers:

Abby Pierce, Tiny Cruz

Director:

Abby Pierce

Producer:

Hannah Welever

Production Company:

Good Trouble Films, Super Athletic Film Co.

Logline:

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.

Do I Know You From Somewhere?

Series

Writer:

Angela Wong Carbone

Director:

Alan Scott Neal

Producers:

Grace Merriman, Yoko Kohmoto

Production Company:

Sleight of Hand Films, Moody House Films

Logline:

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.

Reconstructing Charlie

Feature Film and/or Miniseries

Write and Director:

Lara Everly

Producer:

Claudia Chakmati

Production Company:

Rhiza Films, Madhouse Films

Logline:

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.