Council on Foundations Prize Goes to ¡Salud!

¡Salud! has won the prestigious Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media, conferred by the US-based Council on Foundations (COF).  The award, presented on May 5th, recognizes special projects that honor the spirit of Henry Hampton (1940-98), one of the 20th century’s most influential documentary filmmakers. 

Producer-Director Connie Field accepting the Henry Hampton Award.

Connie Field, Producer-Director of ¡Salud!, accepted the award during the COF’s Philanthropic Academy Awards ceremonies held during the Council’s annual meeting at the Gaylord National Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. "Henry Hampton was a great pioneering filmmaker who told the story of one of the most important social struggles in our country's history:  the Civil Rights Movement,” she said. “To receive a prize in his name is very meaningful to me.  And to receive such an honor from the Council on Foundations is truly gratifying.  Most importantly, for this to be received in honor of a film made about Cuban health care is indeed testimony to the film's  ability to successfully communicate to a US audience a subject that could be viewed in America as controversial. In a time when we face a major health care crisis, this story from Cuba has an immense amount to offer us."

A ¡Salud! screening followed, with discussion led by Alyce Myatt of Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media.  On hand were Dr. Peter Bourne, the film’s executive producer and chair of Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba (MEDICC), the documentary’s distributor; and Dr. Evelyn Erickson, a Dominican-American physician who graduated from Havana’s Latin American Medical School (ELAM).  In answer to one question, Dr. Erickson, who is from New York City, said she had decided to study medicine in Cuba after visiting there with a teachers’ group, and finding out about the ELAM program, which doctors from 29 countries in the Americas, Africa and Asia.  “The program allowed me to study medicine that focuses on prevention and community, as you see in the film itself,” she told the over 200 people gathered for the screening, a post-awards event hosted jointly by the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media and Hispanics in Philanthropy.  

From the Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media website on ¡Salud!

Filmed in seven countries across three continents, this compelling documentary looks at the Cuban health care system and, particularly, how it has spread around the world through medical diplomacy. The film also features exchange programs which bring medical trainees to Cuba, including students from the U.S., who would not have the opportunity to go to medical school in their home countries. This dynamic film that takes the viewpoint that health care is one area better served by public sector programs rather than through privatization because "quality healthcare is a human right, not a commodity."

More on ¡Salud!

¡Salud! is also winner of the following prizes and distinctions: 

• American Library Association’s 2008 Notable Video.
• American Medical Student Association’s First Film Prize.
• Audience Choice Award at Los Angeles’ Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF).
• Bronze Remi at Houston’s 40th Annual Worldfest. 

¡Salud!, (93 minutes), directed by Academy-Award nominee Connie Field; produced by Connie Field and Gail Reed. Available in four-language DVD (English, Spanish, Portuguese and French). Closed captioned in English.  The ¡Salud! Study Guide downloadable in two versions: for general audiences and health sciences classrooms. See www.saludthefilm.net for more and to purchase online. Discounts for public libraries and non-profit organizations.

More on Henry Hampton