The Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has the privilege of welcoming Academy Award Nominated filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy to The Future of Pediatrics 2024. During the Sunday luncheon at the Future of Pediatric Practice, Scott will lead an interactive session with select scenes from his documentary, SHOT IN THE ARM, which explores vaccine hesitancy historically and in the context of Covid-19.
The film features public health experts like Tony Fauci, Paul Offit, and Peter Hotez, as well as rare interviews and footage with anti-vaccine activists like Robert Kennedy, Jr., Andrew Wakefield, and Del Bigtree. It premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and has received amazing reviews, including from Algis Baliunas MD – FAAEM who said, “As an Emergency Physician, I frequently see patients harmed by vaccine hesitancy. SHOT IN THE ARM brings to light the devastating effects of medical disinformation and urges us to have a respectful dialogue about its harmful consequences on a national level.”
The FPP 2024 luncheon session will be facilitated by American Academy of Pediatrics President Elect Dr. Sue Kressly. All FPP2024 attendees will receive access to the film through the attendee hub and are invited to join this luncheon discussion.
Watch the trailer for SHOT IN THE ARM here.
Register at futureofpediatrics.org.
About Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Academy Award® nominee Scott Hamilton Kennedy is a writer, director, producer, cameraman, and editor. He has worked on everything from documentary and scripted film with legends like Roger Corman, directed music videos like Jimmy Cliff’s international hit “I Can See Clearly Now,” to commercials, motion capture animation, scripted and reality television. His documentary work includes Oscar Nominated The Garden, which tells the story of the complicated struggle over the nation’s largest community garden; Independent Spirit Award Nominee OT: our town—about the first play in 25 years at Dominguez High School in Compton; and the critically acclaimed Fame High, which follows four students through a year at one of the most respected and competitive performing arts high schools in the country. Scott recently launched Time Capsule Movies, a production company that personally curates documentaries that capture special moments in your life to be shared for generations to come.
Scott’s previous documentary, narrated by the esteemed astrophysicist and science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, is FOOD EVOLUTION, which, through resetting the GMO controversy, highlights the importance of using the scientific method to help everyone – from parents to politicians – make better decisions. FOOD EVOLUTION was both one of the most controversial and well-received documentaries of 2017, garnering a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, where the LA Times wrote: “Calm, careful, potentially revolutionary, FOOD EVOLUTION is an iconoclastic documentary on a hot-button topic,” and the NY Times: “FOOD EVOLUTION posits an inconvenient truth for organic boosters to swallow: In a world desperate for safe, sustainable food, GMOs may well be a force for good.” It has been screened on Capitol Hill, the National Academy of Sciences, the European Parliament, the FAO, and many more.
SHOT IN THE ARM, Scott’s current documentary explores how individuals make the best decisions in the face of overwhelming misinformation. The emergence of COVID-19 has devastated millions of lives, decimated the global economy and divided us like never before. The virus has also brought the real threat to the planet into focus: the ‘virus under the virus:’ the virus of misinformation and conspiracies at the expense of unbiased science.
About Sue Kressly, MD, FAAP
Susan J. Kressly, MD, FAAP, is the 2024 AAP President-Elect. Dr Kressly is board certified in Pediatrics and Clinical Informatics, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She received her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine and served her residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Dr. Kressly began practicing in the Doylestown area in 1990 and has been an involved member of the medical community since then. Her independent pediatric practice has been a recognized medical home since 2011.
My dominant advocacy gene compels me to speak up for children and pediatricians in order to advance child health and the profession of pediatrics. I believe that all children deserve access to a well-coordinated, patient centered medical home neighborhood, and that all pediatricians, including medical and surgical specialists, deserve sufficient resources, payment, and support to meet the needs of the patients and families they serve.
My leadership journey has allowed me a broad range of experiences where I have actively sought a wide variety of perspectives. I am an empowering leader, providing inspiration and opportunity for others to collaborate.
