CineHealth announces 2026 film festival finalists ahead of Fierce Pharma Week

Digital Health Networks has named finalists for the fourth annual CineHealth International Health and Wellness Film and Video Festival, with winners set to be honored Sept. 15 in Philadelphia during Fierce Pharma Week. More than 500 entries from over 60 countries were submitted across film, video, podcasting and social media categories.

Why it matters: - CineHealth is the largest international film festival focused exclusively on health and wellness. - The festival is built around patient and HCP engagement through storytelling. - The awards highlight how film, video, social media and podcasts are being used to shape health communication.

What happened: - Digital Health Networks announced the finalists for the fourth annual CineHealth International Health and Wellness Film and Video Festival on Aug. 17, 2026. - Winners will be honored Tuesday, Sept. 15, during Fierce Pharma Week in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. - The awards ceremony will be held alongside the Fierce Pharma Awards during Questex’s Fierce Pharma Week. - Red carpet arrivals begin at 6:45 p.m., and the program starts at 7:00 p.m. - More information is available at the festival website.

The details: - The 2026 festival received more than 500 films from more than 60 countries, including Iran, the US, the United Kingdom and Malaysia. - Jury members came from the film industry, audio and television networks, healthcare agencies and pharmaceutical companies. - The finalists were named across five categories: feature films, short films, episodic series, social media shorts and podcasts. - Feature film finalists include An Unquiet Mind, Brother Austin, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Resilient Brain and Nurse: Empathy Heals. - Short film finalists include B Cells: A Chemotherapy Poem, becalming, Forever in the Mountains, Giving Back Breath and Imperfect Days. - Episodic series finalists include CIDP Unscripted, KTSF Channel 26 Health Matters, Period Power Stories, Rare Well Done and Stoop Chat with Aleathea & Ariam. - Social media short finalists include Dr.Glaucomfleken (Medical Burnout), Healthcare Equity Short, Power In Our Hands and Team Invisalign: Game Changers. - Podcast finalists include Dr. Rachel Rubin: I'm Filled With Rage, Mark Cuban's Case for Medicare for All, The Dan Buettner Podcast, The Mitochondria Doctor and The Next Marketing With HJ.

Between the lines: - CineHealth is trying to position health storytelling as both a creative format and a community-building tool. - The tie-in with Fierce Pharma Week gives the festival access to a broader life sciences audience and more visibility inside pharma marketing. - The mix of finalists suggests the festival is expanding beyond traditional film into shorter, platform-native formats.

What's next: - Winners will be announced at the Sept. 15 awards ceremony in Philadelphia. - Complete information and synopses for Official Selections and winners are available on the CineHealth website. - Digital Health Networks will continue to use CineHealth to spotlight health-focused storytelling across its consumer health verticals, including cancer, diabetes, chronic pain, autism and healthy ageing.

The bottom line: - CineHealth’s 2026 finalists show how health and wellness storytelling is moving across film, audio and social media, with the industry’s attention now focused on the Sept. 15 awards night.