Health communication professor Dr. Jill Yamasaki recently served as an associate producer of a new feature-length documentary, Realistically Ever After: A Turn It Gold Movement.

Realistically Every After profiles the efforts of Houston-based nonprofit organization Turn it Gold. Turn it Gold partnered with schools, athletic teams, and community members to communicate hard facts about childhood cancer and increase funding for research.  

“The point of this documentary is really to show that there is a realism to it (cancer survivorship) that isn’t talked about,” said Dr. Yamasaki. “Realistically ever after isn’t a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with embracing a multi-faceted reality.”  

Dr. Yamasaki collaborated on the film with Emmy-award winners Dr. Lynn Harter, a professor with the Scripps College of Communication and co-director of the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact at Ohio University, and Evan Shaw, chief videographer/editor with WOUB Public Media. The film recently premiered in Houston to an audience of participating families, care providers, and bench scientists involved in the project. It has also been accepted by the National Education Television Association (NETA) for distribution to PBS affiliates across the nation.

The Turn It Gold Organization will partner with Dr. Yamasaki and the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication to host a screening of the documentary for the UH community this September to raise awareness for National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.