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DIR: BILL HANEY // 2019

JIM ALLISON: BREAKTHROUGH

2019 // 90 MIN

Jim Allison: Breakthrough is the astounding, true story of one warmhearted, stubborn man’s visionary quest to find a cure for cancer.

Today, Jim Allison is a name to be reckoned with throughout the scientific world — a 2018 Nobel Prize winner for discovering the immune system’s role in defeating cancer — but for decades he waged a lonely struggle against the skepticism of the medical establishment and the resistance of Big Pharma.

Jim Allison: Breakthrough takes us into the inspiring and dramatic world of cutting-edge medicine, and into the heart of a true American pioneer, in a film that is both emotionally compelling and deeply entertaining.

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DIRECTED BY

Bill Haney

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WRITTEN BY

Bill Haney

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PRODUCED BY

Bill Haney

Jennifer Pearce

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EDITED BY

Peter Rhodes

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CINEMATOGRAPHY

Nelson & Graham Talbot

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 NARRATED BY

Woody Harrelson

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Tim Disney
R.J. Cutler
Maura McCarthy
Michael Eisenson
Sean E. Reilly

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MUSIC BY

Mark Orton

Mickey Raphael

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FESTIVALS

SEE ALL AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

"Top Ten Films of 2019”
– Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

“Absorbing...inspiring and heartening...go once, go twice you won’t regret it, you won’t forget it”
– Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

“One of those great, emotional journeys only documentaries are capable of taking us on.”
– Sonic-Cinema.com

“Haney paints a vivid portrait of Allison from boyhood to the present day, creating an empathetic hero for this true-life tale.”
– Leonard Maltin, LeonardMaltin.com

“Breakthrough remains loyal to its academic source material in a way that's clear enough for any viewer to follow… [and] Haney seems to have made all the right filmmaking choices, from balancing the science and sentimental to picking his subject at the perfect time…”
– Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica

“In a time when cynicism and skeptics run rampant, Breakthrough looks to offer a moment of comfort and hope via the story of Jim Allison.”
– Dino-Ray Ramos, Deadline Hollywood 

“In a field you’d never think of as having rock stars, Allison is a rock star of immunology. The filmmaker, Bill Haney, is a rock star among documentarians for bringing us this wonderful, hopeful film about a man and a Breakthrough achievement.”
– Bradley Gibson, Film Threat

“Breakthrough demonstrates that the treatment is not a miracle, but the result of some wild but meticulous thinking by a true medical hero.”~ Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter“Breakthrough is an engaging and entertaining film because Allison is a fascinating subject. He’s blunt and honest and colorful.”
– Sophie Novack, Texas Observer
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