ALEX SMITH

During nearly the entirety of 2025, I worked with The Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Communicable Diseases to create a pilot program wherein student filmmakers vied to receive $10k in financial grants; as well as institutional support to make short films that depict Utah public health impact stories. The project focuses on exploring the role of public health efforts within Utah and the human impact of communicable diseases via compelling, individual- focused narratives. This unique interdisciplinary, public-facing local community collaboration presented students an unique opportunity to use their filmmaking skills to shed light on significant local health issues, create meaningful portfolio pieces, and receive funding to support their creative vision. Project Goals included: 1) Producing high-quality short films– (3-8 minutes long) that tell personal stories related to communicable diseases and public health interventions within Utah. 2) Exploring diverse narratives using fiction, documentary, and/or reenactment styles. 3) Providing students with hands-on experience in producing films on socially relevant topics with expert professional research and support. 4) Assembling impactful stories that showcase the significance of public health efforts in Utah communities. 5) Fostering collaboration between student filmmakers and local public health professionals from the Utah DHHS. After a six-week callout/search: two student filmmaker proposals were selected– one Graduate, one Undergraduate– and each were granted half the total budget of $10,000, provided by the Utah DHHS Office of Communicable Diseases. The collaborative goal of this ambitious program is to create powerful, personal stories that connect audiences to the human side of public health. The films need to focus on stories related to communicable diseases and should present diverse views and opinions. To ensure the health information presented in the films is accurate, the Utah DHHS Office of Communicable Diseases has made a team of epidemiologists and health educators available as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who provide background information; answer questions about communicable diseases and public health concepts relevant to Utah; and help verify the factual accuracy of health-related content in each project.Doing these projects gives selected students and their student-comprised teams valuable experience managing a small budget, producing a film from concept to completion, and getting professional experience working as filmmakers for a non-profit Client.These projects also build out a professional portfolio and have the chance to make an impactful contribution to the public understanding of important health topics within Utah via narrative storytelling.