At TNC Network, we have been working on two major projects starting in 2022. STM Daily News and Sleeve’s Senior Pickleball Report (Sleeve’s SPR), and it’s been one heck of a journey.

Both projects have been progressing nicely, but there is some exciting news on the Sleeve’s SPR side. In late ’22, Mike Sleeves Sliwa was approached by Ashley Underwood via email and asked if he would participate in her upcoming documentary. Mike, after a phone conversation with Ashley, said yes. A year and a half later, the project is about to hit the festival circuit.

Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story, the documentary, was filmed for a tumultuous span of two years, documenting the transformation of America’s fastest-growing sport, from retirement communities to the New York Stock Exchange. This cinematic piece provides an intimate glimpse into the pioneers who pioneered a fresh professional sport. Amidst the ensuing frenzied competition, a fierce rivalry arises to claim dominance in this novel sporting domain. As the ego and ambition of warring Texas billionaires collide, the pickleball pros find themselves entangled, witnessing the shattering of bonds and the betrayal of friends.

The story depicted in “Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story” is distinctly American, as it forces us to grapple with the best and worst of capitalism’s role in sports and in our collective pursuit of the American Dream. The film’s runtime is set at 88 minutes, directed by Ashley Underwood, Seth Porges, and Mary Pilon.

Mike Sleeves Sliwa has indeed reached a significant milestone with his involvement in the development of the Sleeve’s SPR channel and podcast. His dedication and commitment to pickleball are highlighted in his participation in the documentary. We congratulate Mike on this remarkable achievement and look forward to the release of Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story to witness his contributions and the captivating journey it portrays.

If you would like to know more about ‘Dreambreaker: A Pickleball Story’, please visit the website: https://watch.eventive.org/sfdocfest2024/play/6620f254a0b34b0058b26d1b

In a world filled with uncertainty, TNC Network stands out by highlighting its positive impact. The new documentary series focuses on inspiring individuals, offering a refreshing alternative to fear-inducing mainstream media. Avoiding clickbait, TNC aims to uplift and inform. Stay tuned for the debut on STM Daily News.

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WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES /EINPresswire.com/ — The National Institutes of Health recently presented an exclusive screening of the documentary Below the Belt to its 21,000+ employees and researchers.
Below the Belt shines a light on endometriosis, a disease that affects 200 million girls and women around the world yet remains vastly underfunded and under-researched.

The filmmaker Shannon Cohn is one of those women. Cohn partnered with executive producers Hillary Rodham Clinton, Rosario Dawson, Corinne Foxx, Mae Whitman, and the late Senator Orrin Hatch to position the film as a key part of a larger social impact campaign focused on increasing widespread awareness, improving medical education, and creating transformative policy changes in women’s health.

The documentary shows how women are often dismissed, discounted, and disbelieved in their healthcare. During the average ten years it takes to be diagnosed with endometriosis, they are often told that symptoms are in their head or part of being a woman. A greater diagnostic delay exists for women of color who are less likely to be believed, diagnosed, and effectively treated. Due to outdated notions, women with endometriosis are often treated with an array of ineffective drugs and surgeries and erroneously told that pregnancy and hysterectomy are cures. Nearly 50% of infertility cases in women are due to this disease, and almost all are preventable.

The NIH screening, hosted by Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH, and Janine Clayton, M.D., Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health, and NIH Associate D

irector for Research on Women’s Health, was shared with all 27 departments of the NIH Institutes and Centers that make up the National Institutes of Health.

“It is important for our society to understand the human impact of endometriosis. That is why documentaries like Below the Belt are so significant,” said Diana W. Bianchi, M.D. “Our hope is that a greater awareness of the effects of endometriosis among women in the United States and around the world will help accelerate research efforts to definitively diagnose, prevent, and treat this painful disorder.”

Director Janine Clayton, M.D., noted in a panel discussion following the screening that too often, women, and in particular women of color, are not listened to, especially when they are experiencing pain, and they are not believed.

“Unfortunately, race is a factor that sometimes results in bias and how clinicians evaluate individuals presenting with pain,” said Clayton. “It is critical that we raise awareness of that fact and necessary to interrupt the bias.”

Both NIH and Cohn are pressing Congress about the urgent need to focus on women’s health research.

“The goal is to press for a transformative amount of research funding for NIH,” said Cohn. “Researchers should be allowed to be trailblazers on a disease that impacts so many people. We must compel Congress to act on the urgent need to increase funding, not just for endometriosis but for all women’s health issues.”

NIH is working with the White House on a new initiative establishing the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, an effort led by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council. Its goal is to fundamentally change how the United States approaches and funds women’s health research while pioneering the next generation of discoveries in women’s health.

In a statement, the Biden administration specified that “under-investing in women’s health research can decrease women’s well-being and quality of life, hold women back in the workplace, and affect their families’ economic security. By contrast, increasing investments in women’s health research can yield broad societal gains, including lower health care costs and a more productive and inclusive workforce.”

Cohn believes the global social impact campaign around the film can help elevate the White House’s overarching mission and recently discussed the campaign’s strategic elements and goals with the White House Gender Policy Council.

Learn more about endometriosis at www.EndoWhat.com and the film at www.BelowtheBelt.film.

About Below the Belt
The documentary Below the Belt exposes widespread problems in our healthcare systems that disproportionately affect women. From societal taboos and gender bias to misinformed doctors and financial barriers to care, the film reveals how millions are silenced and how, by fighting back, we can improve healthcare for everyone. Below the Belt is streaming on PBS through June 2024.

About Shannon Cohn
Shannon Cohn is an attorney and filmmaker whose work has appeared on PBS, Discovery Channel, and Nat Geo. Her previous film, Endo What?, a feature documentary on endometriosis, was hailed by The Guardian as “film of the year” and by Newsweek as “the first step in a plan for change.”

Source: Laura Evans Media