A Penn Medicine physician's short film about responding to stroke patients made the shortlist for the World Health Organization's Health for All Film Festival.
Renyu Liu, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology and critical care and neurology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, co-directed Wake Up Stoke 120, a film depicting the importance of acting quickly to respond to signs of stroke, appeared in the universal health coverage category of the festival, the health system announced April 14.
The film follows the real-life story of an individual who begins to experience symptoms of a stroke but attempts to push through it instead of calling for an emergency.
"We are extremely pleased that the World Health Organization selected our film," Dr. Liu said. "Such exposure will help us reach large audiences on a global stage. Our hope is that this film will generate a great impact in improving stroke awareness in the community."
Dr. Liu and his team are also producing a new short video titled Stroke 911 to be distributed in the U.S. and Canada. They hope it will bring awareness to the signs and symptoms of strokes, while encouraging people to call for an ambulance when a stroke is suspected.
WHO's festival aims to inspire filmmakers to "champion and promote global health issues." Winners of the festival will be announced in May.