Boston, MA, Oct. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Uncommon Productions (“Uncommon”) is proud to announce that their latest documentary, Jim Allison: Breakthrough (“Breakthrough”) has received the 2019 Golden Owl Award at the Bergen International Film Festival (“BIFF”). The award, co-sponsored by the University of Bergen, is given to the best science documentary for its ability to successfully convey science and research topics to audiences.
The Golden Owl Jury released the following statement on the film:
“For the way the filmmakers give us the long view of the struggle to understand how cancer can be beaten by using our own resources in the immune system. For how the documentary shows how the relationship between the creativity, the humanity and the vulnerability of the scientist is juxtaposed with the immensity of the goal of the research…. The film itself clearly shows how creativity, intuition and money are essential to scientific progress while taking a critical view of the pressure of commercialization within research. We laughed, we danced, we felt the squeeze….This year’s Golden Owl goes to “Jim Allison: Breakthrough”.
Breakthrough, a feature documentary directed by Bill Haney and narrated by Woody Harrelson, tells the astounding true story of Nobel Prize winning scientist, Dr. Jim Allison, and his quest to discover how the immune system can cure cancer.
“I was interested in doing a documentary that united people. We live in a polarized time,” said Director Bill Haney. “One of the blessings of Jim’s work is that no one is pro-cancer. By watching the amazing work of Jim and his team of inspiring collaborators, we can see how to work together for the common good. We’re grateful to have been awarded the Golden Owl Award and hope to continue to share Jim’s story with audiences around the world.
The film World Premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival (“South by Southwest”) earlier in the year, and has screened at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, Independent Film Festival Boston, and Seattle International Film Festival, among others.
Breakthrough recently had its theatrical premiere in New York and Los Angeles and is expanding theaters across the U.S. in October – opening in Houston, San Francisco, Berkeley, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Washington DC, Denver, Bethesda, Minneapolis, Austin, Portland, Chicago, and many others.
To buy tickets and view a full list of theaters, visit www.breakthroughdoc.com
To view the full verdict on the 2019 Golden Owl Award, click here.
For more information on Jim Allison: Breakthrough, visit www.breakthroughdoc.com, or follow Jim Allison: Breakthrough on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About Director Bill Haney
Jim Allison: Breakthrough director Bill Haney is the co-founder of Boston and L.A.-based Uncommon Productions, and has written, directed, or produced 17 films including The Price of Sugar, which won the audience award at South by Southwest in 2007, and The Last Mountain, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival (“Sundance”) in 2011. Bill is also a tech entrepreneur and inventor. He is the co-founder and CEO of Dragonfly Therapeutics, a biotech company developing NK-cell based therapies to cure cancer, and the co-founder and CEO of Skyhawk Therapeutics, a biotech developing small molecules to correct RNA splicing disease ranging from neurological conditions to major cancers.
About Uncommon Productions
Founded in 2000 by Tim Disney and Bill Haney, Uncommon Productions produces documentary and feature films that inspire, enlighten, and engage. Uncommon Productions is based in Los Angeles, CA, and Boston, MA.
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