DOCUTAH "Moonshot Through the Double Helix"

The Dixie State University DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival presents Moonshot Through the Double Helix. A revolution in cancer research is taking place and the world is starting to take notice. Dr. Lincoln Nadauld, MD, PhD, is the Medical Director of Utah’s Intermountain Precision Genomics and a genomic researcher who came to Intermountain Healthcare from Stanford University. He is collaborating with a world-class team which is initiating a novel approach to the treatment of cancer by instituting personalized cancer medicine using innovative genetic sequencing technologies. This film tells the story of how Dr. Nadauld and the work of Intermountain Precision Genomics came to be included in the “Cancer Moonshot Initiative” with Vice President Joe Biden leading the charge. It will be screened on Friday, September 9 at 7 p.m. at the Cox Auditorium and Saturday, September 10 at Noon at The Electric Theater. Tickets for DOCUTAH may be purchased at https://tickets.dsutix.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=14 as a Festival Pass for $40, a Day Pass for $15 or a Single Film Pass for $10.
The documentary, produced and directed by film students at Dixie State University, follows Dr. Nadauld to Washington D.C., Salt Lake City, UT, and Palo Alto, CA where his team of collaborators are taking the future in hand to solve one of mankind’s most vexing problems – how to conquer a disease which afflicts so many worldwide. Intermountain Healthcare, along with a handful of academic medical centers worldwide, is one of the first healthcare systems in the country to treat patients using genetic sequencing technologies.
Earlier this year, Intermountain Healthcare, Stanford Cancer Institute, Providence Health & Services, and Syapse joined together to announce a new consortium to advance cancer care through data sharing and increase access to clinical trials. Responding to Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, the Oncology Precision Network (OPeN) will share, as appropriate, aggregated cancer genomics data through an advanced software platform, rapidly bringing the most promising treatment insights to cancer patients and physicians.
The team of Dr. Lincoln Nadauld, Dr. Derrick Haslem, Dr. Pravin Mishra at Intermountain Healthcare and others are changing the way serious cancers are treated by sequencing a patient’s DNA in search of genetic mutations known to cause cancer. Those mutations are then targeted by specific drugs.
“This consortium exists because we all arrived at the same important conclusion: we need to collaborate across health systems to cure cancer,” said Dr. Lincoln Nadauld. “Through collaboration, we emphasize the need to learn together to empower physicians and patients in finding solutions to cancer without increasing costs.”
According to Nadauld, what precision genomics offers patients is not only new treatment options, but also treatments that are more tolerable. “In this way, we are extending the life of and improving the quality of life of late stage cancer patients,” said Dr. Nadauld.
“The driving force behind the making of this film for me was about giving patients and families hope. Very few people know what genomic research is, but when you explain to them what it can do and that it can give those suffering from cancer new hope, they go – wow!,” said Stan Smith, DSU student and Director of the film. “When we went to Washington, D.C. to hear Dr. Nadauld talk to the National Press Club, his message was all about hope. The hope for a longer life, the hope for a better quality of life, the hope for alternative treatments. My little sister died from colon cancer and perhaps, if she had lived a bit longer, there would have been hope right in her back yard here in Southern Utah. We need to educate everyone about genomics and that there are now options beyond chemo and radiation. If people see this film and walk away saying there is hope, we will have succeeded.”
As students of documentary film, the crew of nine started out with curiosity about this fascinating medical research going on in their own back yard, but as they researched the project, they realized that the story had many tentacles. It included not only the genius of those professionals – medical, technical and business – who had to come together to collaborate and share knowledge, but also the tenacity of two people who protected a BioRepository of millions of biological tumor samples for over 30 years and had the vision to understand that, at some point, science would catch up and these samples would be valuable in treating cancer.
"Intermountain Healthcare’s mission is to help people live the healthiest lives possible. We offer precision cancer genomics using innovative technologies through next-generation sequencing,” said Terri Kane, CEO, Dixie Regional Medical Center. “We have developed a fully integrated program staffed by nationally regarded experts. We stand by our patients and their families by providing comprehensive care that is improving outcomes, easing stress, reducing side effects while controlling costs.”
About DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival
 DSU DOCUTAH™ International Documentary Film Festival is a pure documentary focused film festival presented by Dixie State University in St. George, Utah. The 2016 Festival is its seventh season. Phil Tuckett, Executive Director of DOCUTAH and Director of the DSU Film Program, planted the seed of DOCUTAH in 2009. A small group of individuals went to work to create the inaugural event in September of 2010. Since then more than 1,400 films have been submitted from 70 plus countries and 36 U. S. states.
Filmmakers, and often their subjects, attend the Festival to introduce their films and hold riveting Q & A sessions after the screenings. These talented professionals also participate in DOCUTAH Filmmaker Chats – conversations in an intimate setting, where audience members can glean insights into many topics which go into filmmaking and the business of film.