NEW YORK, NY, June 4, 2025 - Publicis Sapient, a digital business transformation company, announced the launch of the short documentary ‘Doc Albany,’ which explores the healthcare challenges faced by communities with limited access to healthcare resources, including rural Americans. Directed by two-time Academy Award®-winning director Ben Proudfoot (‘The Queen of Basketball’ and ‘The Last Repair Shop’) and his company, Breakwater Studios, the film, which profiles doctors working in rural Georgia, is set to make its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Festival.   

Publicis Sapient Forms Partnership With NACHC

Publicis Sapient has partnered on a campaign to promote the film with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), whose mission is to promote efficient, high-quality, comprehensive healthcare that is accessible to all.  Both organizations will leverage the film to raise awareness of the role community health centers play in providing vital healthcare in medically underserved areas and educate the medical community about the potential for digital tools in the healthcare space to improve efficiency, accessibility and quality of care for patients.  

NACHC’s collaborative partnership with Publicis Sapient will include building awareness for the film across NACHC’s owned and operated channels, including social media and its website.  NACHC is planning select screenings at its upcoming events this year, including at the Community Health Institute and Expo in August and its Workforce Conference in October.  In addition, NACHC will encourage screenings in local community centers.

“The dedicated primary care physicians featured in 'Doc Albany' represent the heart of America's Community Health Centers. This film illuminates a vital yet underreported aspect of our health system that continues to deliver results. Across the nation, in rural and urban communities, nearly 1,500 community health centers employ hundreds of thousands of compassionate health professionals who exemplify the mission-driven approach of care that saves lives and dollars. Through their innovative model of integrated primary and preventive care, these centers prevent and treat disease daily while demonstrating the power of affordable, effective community-based healthcare,” said Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, President and CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Over 100 million people in underserved communities in the U.S. lack access to primary care services.  ‘Doc Albany’ provides an intimate look at the significant barriers Americans face in accessing essential healthcare services and the importance of structural changes required to ensure healthcare access for all, regardless of geography. The film, set in rural Georgia, tells its story through the perspective of Dr. Jim Hotz, who founded Albany Area Primary Health Care (AAPHC), and Dr. Sheena Favors, an OB-GYN and Co-Director of Women’s Health Services at the Community Health Center.  AAPHC is a federally qualified health center with 30 clinical sites serving nearly 55,000 rural patients in Southwest Georgia, oftentimes caring for the most vulnerable in their community. Both Dr. Hotz, who was the inspiration for the 1991 Michael J. Fox film ‘Doc Hollywood,’ and Dr. Favors have witnessed the profound implications of healthcare disparities found within marginalized populations.  They have also experienced the benefits of a digital system developed by Publicis Sapient for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which helps place healthcare professionals in underserved areas across the country that face shortages.  

“So, what is a community health center, and why is it different from other physician groups?,” says Dr. James Hotz, Clinical Services Director and Founder of Albany Area Primary Health Care. “First and foremost, our community health center is owned by our patients. That’s a rare and powerful model in today’s healthcare system. It means we focus on what truly matters, not just on what’s most profitable. We step into areas that might not bring in the most money—but where we know we can make the biggest difference. What makes us different is our commitment. We are here for our patients—rich or poor, in sickness and in health. We're here through it all.”

HRSA’s loan repayment and scholarship programs help bring doctors and nurses into high-need communities by repaying their student loans in exchange for their service.  However, outdated systems and manual processes once made it difficult to scale, track impact, and respond quickly to public health emergencies.  Over several years, Publicis Sapient has helped HRSA transform digitally by bringing efficiencies and scale to their operations and modernizing them to better align with their mission of improving health in high-need areas.  As part of its work, Publicis Sapient replaced a 35-year-old mainframe system, leading to triple processing capacity and saving millions, and it implemented a data management program to gain critical insights for better strategic investments and data-driven policies.

“HRSA’s mission is to help the most vulnerable populations, specifically those who are geographically isolated,” said Prasad Bhalerao, Public Sector Lead, North America at Publicis Sapient.  “The work that Publicis Sapient embarked on to help modernize and transform HRSA’s digital platform is key to improving access to health resources in the communities that need it most.”

‘Doc Albany’ is the third film in a three-part short film series, known as Impact Films, led by Publicis Sapient’s Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Teresa Barreira. Through gripping storytelling and a differentiated non-branding approach to documentaries, Impact Films brings to life the incredible power of digital business transformation and the profound impact it can have on major societal issues, through stories told by a person whose life has been positively impacted by technology.  ‘Doc Albany’ follows the releases of short films ‘Forgiving Johnny’ and  ‘Never Done.’  

“‘Doc Albany’ offers a candid look at the challenges many Americans face in accessing quality care,” said Publicis Sapient’s Global Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Teresa Barreira. “With this short film, we’re striving to put a human face on digital business transformation because behind every system and screen is a real person, with real needs. Thanks to our collaboration with HRSA, we’re helping drive meaningful change through innovative and impactful digital systems. We hope this film inspires healthcare professionals and gives hope to those navigating today’s healthcare landscape.”

"When 77% of rural counties in the United States are medical deserts, doctors like Dr. Jim Hotz and Dr. Sheena Favors, who save and transform lives on a daily basis in Albany, Georgia, are real life heroes worth celebrating,” said two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur Ben Proudfoot.  “I am thrilled that their story will reach audiences in Manhattan, which has 11 hospitals in 23 square miles, at the 2025 Tribeca Festival.  As Dr. Favors asserts in the film, "You shouldn't have to live in New York City to be healthy!"

‘Doc Albany’ will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Sunday, June 8, 2:30pm at the Shorts Theater at Spring Studios in New York.

For more information on Publicis Sapient’s Impact Films, please visit https://thehowchannel.publicissapient.com/series/impact-films

About Impact Films

Publicis Sapient’s Impact Films is a three-part short film series that underscores the power of digital business transformation through real stories about the positive impact digital can have on major societal issues. These stories are told from the perspective of a person who experiences positive change due to digital business transformation. The Impact Films initiative is brought to life in partnership with Academy-Award® winning director Ben Proudfoot and his company Breakwater Studios.

About Publicis Sapient

Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company. We partner with global organizations to help them create and sustain competitive advantage in a world that is increasingly digital. We operate through our expert SPEED – Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering and Data & AI – capabilities which, combined with our culture of curiosity and deep industry knowledge, enable us to deliver meaningful impact to our clients’ businesses through reimagining the products and experiences their customers truly value. Our agile, data-driven approach equips our clients’ businesses for change, making digital the core of how they think and what they do. Publicis Sapient is the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe with 20,000 people across 72 offices worldwide. For more information, visit publicissapient.com.

About Breakwater Studios

Breakwater Studios is a two-time Academy Award®-winning, vertically integrated entertainment company specializing in humanist short-form documentaries. Founded in 2012 by filmmaker and entrepreneur Ben Proudfoot, the craft-first company is rooted in the principle of housing all creative departments on the same physical campus, which is currently spread between multiple facilities in the historic Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, including Walt Disney’s original studio. Since 2014, Breakwater Studios has partnered directly with sophisticated brands to conceive and create short documentary series as a more effective and affordable alternative to traditional interruptive advertising. With a full-time staff of 25 and a growing team of in-residence artists, Breakwater has emerged as an unlikely leader in the traditionally unprofitable short documentary space. With noteworthy and award-winning collaborations with The New York Times, Charles Schwab, LinkedIn, YouTube, and L’Oréal Paris, and various original projects being selected at DOC NYC, HotDocs, Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW and Telluride, Breakwater Studios continues to establish itself as an industry leader and innovator.