Believe Limited Continues BioMarin Partnership on Breaking Through! Programming with Documentary Filmmaking Project for Bleeding Disorder Community

Ten Adults Living with a Bleeding Disorder to be Selected for First-of-Its-Kind Program Aimed at Empowerment through Artistic Expression

LOS ANGELES, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of World Hemophilia Day, Believe Limited today announced a continuation of its exclusive partnership with BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. and The Foundation for Art & Healing on Breaking Through! programming for the bleeding disorder community. Following the success of national and regional workshops and performances of "Hemophilia: The Musical," this year the first-of-its-kind program will focus on a new artistic form – filmmaking. The hybrid virtual and in-person workshops and productions will take place from June to October 2022 to provide adults aged 18 and older with powerful education on the healing and therapeutic power of the arts and self-expression.

Ten adults from across the country will be selected to participate and tell their stories of the challenges and victories of living with a bleeding disorder in a documentary film. Participants will first learn about the filmmaking process during virtual workshops on topics such as writing, prop selection, set decoration, directing, and editing. The WEBBY and SABRE-award winning Believe Limited production team will then travel to the hometowns of participants to help bring their stories to life on camera. The culminating documentary film will premiere during a special fall event and be made available to the community.

"Since its start in 2018, the Breaking Through! program has helped to educate hundreds of people in the bleeding disorder community about how artistic expression can help to improve their health and lives," said Patrick James Lynch, hemophilia advocate, filmmaker, and Believe Limited CEO. "This year, our team is proud to bring our collective experience as writers, producers, directors, and editors to empower members of the community with the production of a hyper-creative, multi-vision, multi-format documentary about life with a bleeding disorder. Each filmmaker's unique style, creative choices, taste and script writing will make a powerful, dynamic, non-fiction film pop on the screen."

The Breaking Through! program is sponsored exclusively by BioMarin. The Foundation for Art & Healing (FAH), whose mission is to promote and integrate the use of creativity and the arts in addressing mental and physical health challenges, will join the partnership lending subject matter expertise and experience in developing, measuring, and scaling innovative arts-based programs. FAH's Project UnLonely delivers community programs nationally to address the "epidemic" of loneliness through various artistic mediums, including film through its powerful UnLonely Film Festival.   

"For those with a rare, chronic, and often misunderstood disease such as hemophilia, the everyday frustrations can lead to a sense of isolation and loneliness," said Jeremy Nobel, M.D., Harvard Medical School faculty member, and founder and president of The Foundation for Art & Healing. "We're thrilled to be a partner supporting the Breaking Through! program as we've long championed the story-telling power of film and filmmaking to engage and create authentic connections. The Breaking Through! program offers a creative pathway for those in the bleeding disorder community to become more connected, confident, and engaged in their own self-care and therapeutic regimen, as well as to enjoy a richer and more flourishing life."

"BioMarin is proud to continue our support of the Breaking Through! program in our mission to lift the voice of the hemophilia community," said Chuck Bucklar, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations North America at BioMarin. "At BioMarin, we are inspired by a hemophilia community with huge aspirations and driven to deliver on the ingenuity of gene therapy clinical research and exploration."

Adults aged 18 and older in the U.S. living with hemophilia, who are carriers of hemophilia, who have von Willebrand disease, who have another rare factor deficiency, or who have a sibling living with a bleeding disorder are invited to apply now through 11:59 pm PT on Saturday, May 21, 2022. To learn more visit www.BreakingThroughHemophilia.com.  

Hemophilia A, also called factor VIII deficiency or hemophilia, is an X-linked genetic disorder caused by missing or defective factor VIII, a clotting protein. Although it is most-commonly passed down from parents to children, about 1/3 of cases are caused by a spontaneous mutation, a new mutation that was not inherited. Approximately 1 in 10,000 people have Hemophilia A.

People with the most severe form of hemophilia A often experience painful, spontaneous bleeds into their muscles or joints.  Individuals with severe hemophilia A (FVIII levels <1%) make up approximately 45 to 50 percent of the hemophilia A population.  People with hemophilia A with moderate (FVIII 1–5%) or mild (FVIII 5–40%) disease show a much-reduced propensity to bleed.  The standard of care for adults with severe hemophilia A is a prophylactic regimen of replacement factor VIII infusions administered intravenously up to two to three times per week, or 100 to 150 infusions per year.  Despite these regimens, many people continue to experience breakthrough bleeds, resulting in progressive and debilitating joint damage, which can have a major impact on their quality of life.

Believe Limited is an award-winning boutique agency focused on creating educational, inspirational and deeply impactful digital content, live events, podcasts, feature films, and more for rare disease communities, with a deeply-rooted focus in hemophilia and bleeding disorders. Our work has been honored by the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA) and the WEBBYs. To learn more about our content and programming, please visit www.BelieveLTD.com.

The Foundation for Art & Healing (FAH) is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization that uses creative expression and the arts to address some of the most urgent public health issues today.  Rooted in medicine and science, FAH develops high impact, scalable programs that address the physical and mental health challenges of diverse populations including individuals with chronic health conditions, veterans, front-line healthcare workers, employees, older adults, and college students. Its national, regional, and community-based partnerships enable effective program delivery and amplify the powerful effect of using creativity and the arts to connect and heal. FAH created Project UnLonely to focus public awareness on the negative physical and mental health consequences of loneliness, and to develop and broaden the use of effective arts-based programming. The UnLonely Film Festival curates and delivers films centered on loneliness through its streaming platform as an engaging storytelling tool that fosters authentic conversations and connection.

Believe Limited 
Rob Bradford 
Email: rob@believeltd.com 
Phone: 434-258-7222 

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SOURCE Believe Limited