Tulane Public Health to co-produce Public Health Film Festival with WHIV

Dean LaVeist’s feature documentary, The Skin You're In, investigates the astonishing disparity between black and white health in America to find out why it exists and discover what can be done about it.

The Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine will partner with community radio station 102.3 FM WHIV-LP to produce the inaugural Public Health Film Festival to showcase cinematic stories that emphasize disparities in both public health and basic individual rights. The film festival will take place May 10-12, 2019, at the university’s downtown campus at 1440 Canal Street in New Orleans.

The Public Health Film Festival of New Orleans will screen powerful feature-length and short documentaries, intended to inform and educate audiences around a variety of topics while inspiring activism for health equity. Moderated panels including the filmmakers, public health experts, and affected community members covered in the documentaries will occur immediately following screening blocks to add real-life context.

The first chapter in the docuseries “The Skin You’re In” will be among the films screened during the festival. Dr. Thomas LaVeist, dean of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, is the director of the series, which investigates the disparity in black and white health in the United States, seeking to find out why it exists and what can be done about it.

“Film is an ideal medium to explore these topics to reach larger audiences beyond the academic community,” says LaVeist. “I’m also excited to welcome the community into the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. We are in a great, central location in the heart of the city, and I want to encourage the Greater New Orleans community to see us as an active partner and participant in improving the health of the city and state.”

A majority of the movies selected have local ties to New Orleans and/or Louisiana with issues ranging from HIV/AIDS to gun violence, reproductive justice to veteran’s health, the 2014 Ebola crisis and beyond.

For this first film festival, filmmakers were invited to present their work. In future years, organizers intend to make the film festival a juried event that will attract both new and experienced filmmakers from across the U.S. and beyond.

Tickets are available at F-NO.org/tickets.