Bending the Arc
directed by Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos, USA, 102'
In theory, everyone has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental healthcare, but in practice few believe that this really applies to the poorest people in the world's poorest countries. So when a group of activist physicians decided to prove that it was possible to treat difficult cases of tuberculosis in Peru, they even faced opposition from the medical establishment and official WHO policy, which did not recommend such treatment because of the costs and difficulty. Their success was possible because of the prior experience of Haiti, where the involvement of local communities brought about excellent results: the friends and neighbors of patients were given proper training and thus became social healthcare workers. Today, Partners in Health is a large-scale organization that is transforming global healthcare culture. In Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos's film, the epic battle for the right to healthcare for everyone is represented by its pioneers: Paul Farmer, Jim Yong Kim and Ophelia Dahl. They are worth getting to know if only because they will be able to lift your spirits like few others.
- 2017 Sundance
