Filmmaker helps AbbVie spread the word about leukaemia
New short film Second Winds features CLL patients Alejandro, Christina, and Jeff (l to r).
AbbVie has turned to award-winning, Oscar-nominated director Dominic Gill to help it highlight the lives of people living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in a new film.
Oxford, UK-born adventurer, filmmaker, and author Gill has won renown for his work on documentaries, including Planetwalker, Our Children's Rover, and Last Call for the Bayou, that have drawn attention to environmental concerns around the world. He was nominated this year for an Oscar for Planetwalker, the story of environmentalist John Francis.
With Second Winds, he turned his attention to healthcare and the deeply personal journeys of three people living with CLL, one of the most common leukaemias among adults, affecting more than 200,000 people in the US.
The film – which explores the experiences of three people diagnosed with CLL – premiered last week in Los Angeles at an event hosted by actor and advocate Jesse Tyler Ferguson, a star on the long-running sitcom Modern Family and prominent advocate for same-sex marriages.
It follows Christina, who was diagnosed in 2013 and now leads peer support groups for newly diagnosed CLL patients, along with Jeff, a retiree who has lived with CLL for two decades, and Alejandro, an environmental engineer and father of three who was diagnosed in 2020.
Through their stories, the film explores how, with the unwavering support of their families and communities, they found not only strength but the inspiration to survive and keep pursuing the activities they love, from hiking and cycling to snow skiing and land paddling.
"Spending time with the films' subjects gave me a unique perspective on what it means to be a survivor," said Gill. "By working alongside the filmmaking team, and having AbbVie as a partner, I was able to bring light to how determination and hope can truly make a difference. I'm honoured to have directed this film and to show the world these amazing stories of perseverance."
Andy Souers, distinguished research fellow at AbbVie's Oncology Discovery Research, said it is important to "support the blood cancer community, not only through scientific innovation to develop treatments that address the disease and a person's quality of life, but also by amplifying their inspiring stories."
AbbVie has a long heritage in developing therapies for blood cancers, including Venclexta/Venclyxto (venetoclax), which has become an important first-line therapy for CLL as well as for people whose cancer is relapsed/refractory to other treatments.
Second Winds can be viewed on AbbVie's YouTube channel.
