Donate Life Hollywood to Honor Eight Outstanding Productions at the Annual DLH Inspire Awards Oct. 8
LOS ANGELES: The DLH Inspire Awards, honoring motion picture and television programming that over the past year has shed a positive light on organ donation, will be presented to eight exceptional productions on Oct. 8. The virtual awards show will stream LIVE at 4 p.m. Pacific Time on Facebook @DLHCampaign and YouTube @OneLegacyInspires.
DLH Inspire Awards are given to productions that present authentic and positive portrayals of organ donation and transplantation and cover a wide array of creative endeavors including television shows, movies, documentaries and shorts. They are an initiative of Donate Life Hollywood, which serves as a liaison between the organ donation community and the entertainment industry to encourage more authentic and empowering stories on this important topic.
The following productions and their writers are being honored at the 2020 DLH Inspire Awards for excellence in authentic storytelling:
- Motion Pictures:
- “A Question of Faith” – writer Ty Manns.
- “2 Hearts” – writers Veronica Hool and Robin Russin.
- “Middleton Christmas” – writer Tricia Aurand and producers Suzanne DeLaurentiis, Leilani Turner and Dale Fabrigar.
- Television:
- “Grace & Frankie” for their episode “The Tank” (Netflix) – writers Marta Kauffman, Howard J. Morris and Alex Kavallierou.
- “New Amsterdam” (NBC) for their episode “The Domino Effect” – writers Y. Shireen Razack and David Schulner (creator).
- “NOVA” (PBS) for their episode “Transplanting Hope” – producers Niobe Thompson and Rosvita Dransfeld.
- “Kidding” (Showtime) for their season two storyline – writers Dave Holstein (creator), Roberto Benabib, Michael Vukadinovich, Joey Mazzarino, Hilary Weisman Graham, Matthew Salsberg, Dylan Tanous, Cody Heller and Jas Waters.
- Documentary:
- “Burden of Genius” – producers Laura Davis, Tjardus Greidanus, Carl Kurlander.
“The entertainment industry has a huge impact on the public’s perception of organ donation, and we are thrilled to honor these exceptional storylines for their dedication to getting the story right,” said DLH Founder Tenaya Wallace. “Unlike most other subjects that are dramatized in Hollywood, the majority of the public has never actually experienced donation and thus are highly influenced, positively or negatively, by the fictional account of a very real and serious topic. When Hollywood gets it wrong, it can cost lives. But when they get it right—as these eight productions have—Hollywood has the power to literally save and change lives.”
Also being honored on Oct. 8 is the winner of DLH’s “Storytellers Challenge,” which invited teens, ages 13-19, to showcase their own talents and creativity by creating a one-minute video aimed at debunking a myth regarding organ donation. All videos submitted were reviewed by a panel of Hollywood and transplant industry judges with cash prizes awarded to the winners.
DLH is an initiative of the OneLegacy Foundation, the education, research and support arm of OneLegacy, the nonprofit federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) based in the heart of Hollywood and serving seven counties in Southern California. DLH is further supported by OPOs, transplant centers and patient groups around the country.
Throughout the year DLH provides film companies, television programs, entertainment studios, producers and writers easy access to a network of experts—from renowned transplant surgeons to families whose loved ones became an organ donor—for free consultations on all aspects of organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation. DLH also assists with casting, production and publicity support.
