Crystal R. Emery’s ‘The Deadliest Disease in America’ to premiere
on September 10 at New York’s Cinema Village
What makes COVID-19 even deadlier? Racism in medicine. NYWIFT member Crystal R. Emery’s documentary The Deadliest Disease in America traces the history of racism in American health care from the brutal medical experimentation forced upon enslaved peoples to the modern-day inequity in fatality rates and access to treatment experienced by people of color during the pandemic.
The timely film, which is written, directed and produced by Emery — a Connecticut filmmaker and American Association for the Advancement of Science AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, who is also triumphing over quadriplegia and two serious diseases — will have its red carpet premieres at New York City’s Cinema Village on September 10 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and run through September 16. Cinema Village is located at 22 East 12th Street in Manhattan.
Ten years in the making, The Deadliest Disease in America presents the sobering personal stories of patients who have been victimized by health care inequities, including Emery, who shares her own experiences as a quadriplegic African American woman. Lending their expertise to the film by way of commentary are Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, MD, MHS, senior adviser to the White House COVID-19 Response Team; Dr. Camara Jones, MD, MPH, PhD, epidemiologist, past president of American Public Health Association; Dr. Bert Petersen, MD, Director of Division of Breast Surgery at SBH Health System; Dr. Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, surgeon general of the United States; and others.
Emery is also the director of Black Women in Medicine, a documentary that reached more than 14 million people worldwide and the You Can’t Be What You Don’t See Virtual Reality Experience. She is the CEO & founder of URU, The Right to Be, Inc., the New Haven-based multimedia nonprofit dedicated to education through the arts, which is presenting the screening.

Crystal Emery and Robert Shepard (Photo Credit: URU The Right to Be, Inc)
“I have always endeavored to tell stories that move us all toward a more equitable and humane world,” says Emery, who has Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a degenerative nerve disease, and diabetes. “It is vital that we call on our elected officials to create policy that uproots the systemic racism that is standing in the way of a health care system and a society that are equal for all.”
Proof of vaccination must be presented to enter the venue the night of the premiere.
The Deadliest Disease in America was made possible with support from William Graustein, the Roslyn Milstein Meyer and Jerome Meyer Foundation, Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, Connecticut Health Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
For tickets for The Deadliest Disease in America, visit https://bit.ly/3fQfK6A.
For more information on URU, visit https://www.urutherighttobe.org/our-story. Follow URU on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @urutherighttobe for updates.
ABOUT CRYSTAL R. EMERY:
Crystal R. Emery is a dynamic producer, author and filmmaker known for producing socially conscious storytelling on a variety of platforms that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, a cause close to her heart as a quadriplegic who works to ensure that physical limitations don’t define her potential. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Emery began her career in entertainment working with acclaimed theater director Lloyd Richards and film industry titan Bill Duke and later went on to receive her master’s degree in Media Studies from The New School for Public Engagement. Her previous work includes the documentary Black Women in Medicine.
ABOUT URU THE RIGHT TO BE, INC.:
A 501(c)(3), the mission of URU is to foster communication and understanding among diverse people by utilizing, discovering and applying tangible multimedia solutions at the intersection of the arts, humanities, science and technology. URU’s goal is to move all stakeholders toward a more equitable and humane world. Because the human condition is complex, and people are multidimensional, it understandably takes a multimedia approach to engage them, especially given their constant bombardment with information. Through a unique approach that involves lowering people’s defense mechanisms and meeting them where they are, URU continues to be successful in its mission to help people find their commonalities and work together.
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Lindsey Lambert
Lindsey Lambert is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker originally from Austin, Texas. She works as a location scout for film and television in the NYC area, currently on Law & Order: Organized Crime. After receiving her Master’s Degree in Human Rights from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in the spring of 2022, she began directing and producing her debut feature documentary Teaching Social Studies about public school education and the anti-critical race theory laws in Texas. It is currently in production and she hopes the film will be completed by the summer of 2025. In our interview, she discusses her decision to go back to school, her work on the new Amazon Prime series Étoile, how to educate young people about our challenging history, and the most memorable location she's scouted to date.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Melanie Fox
Let's give a warm welcome to new NYWIFT member, Melanie Fox! Melanie Fox is a linguist who turned her passion for accents, dialects, presentations, and language learning into a thriving coaching business. Melanie empowers actors and public figures to speak clear, confident English through accent reduction, interview and presentation training. She also trains actors to master authentic English and Spanish dialects. She is a paid public speaker who helps her audiences "Hack into Language" and hosts a new podcast, "Hack That Accent." Melanie holds a Masters of Science degree in Linguistics from Georgetown University. She credits a lot of her inspiration to two semesters studying abroad at la Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. In our interview, she discusses how her work as a dialect coach spans multiple industries, her coaching success stories, and how she encourages clients to maintain their cultural authenticity while adjusting their presentation to match their business goals.
READ MOREDisney+ Celebrates National Pet Day with Heartwarming New Documentary “Pets” Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard
Disney+ is tugging at the heartstrings this National Pet Day with the premiere of its latest original documentary, Pets, debuting April 11. Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, the film dives into the extraordinary relationships that exist between humans and their animals — no matter the species, no matter the place. In our exclusive interview, Bryce Dallas Howard shared how the collaboration with Imagine Documentaries — and her father Ron Howard — helped bring her vision to life. Along with aspects which will make audiences interested in watching even if they are not pet owners and more!
READ MORECracking the Code on Film Fundraising: Insights from NYWIFT’s Winter Film Festival Panel
On a brisk February afternoon, I found the perfect escape from the cold—diving into an eye-opening discussion at the 2025 Winter Film Festival. One of the standout moments? Navigating Film Fundraising with NYWIFT, a must-attend panel for any filmmaker tackling the most daunting part of filmmaking: raising money. Leading the conversation were Easmanie Michel, NYWIFT’s Director of Artists Programs and Finance, and NYWIFT Member Joanna Rudolph, executive producer of Burning Annie and The Co-op: The Kids of Dorie Miller. Their wealth of knowledge made for a powerful session, packed with real-world success stories and actionable strategies. Marchelle Thurman summarized some key takeaways to help you fund your next film.
READ MORE
Comments are closed