The Final Inch
title: "The Final Inch" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2009-films", "american-short-documentary-films", "documentary-films-about-health-care", "documentary-films-about-infectious-diseases", "2009-short-documentary-films", "works-about-polio", "2000s-english-language-films", "2009-american-films", "english-language-short-documentary-films"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Inch" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | The Final Inch |
| image | The_Final_Inch_poster.jpg |
| caption | Publicity poster |
| director | Irene Taylor Brodsky |
| producer | Irene Taylor Brodsky |
| Tom Grant | |
| starring | Mohammad Gulzar Saifi |
| music | Joe Janiga |
| Courtney Von Drehle | |
| cinematography | Jeff Streich |
| Irene Taylor Brodsky | |
| editing | Bill Weber |
| studio | Vermilion Films |
| distributor | Home Box Office |
| released | |
| runtime | 38 minutes |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| Urdu | |
| Hindi | |
| :: |
| name = The Final Inch | image = The_Final_Inch_poster.jpg | caption = Publicity poster | director = Irene Taylor Brodsky | producer = Irene Taylor Brodsky Tom Grant | writer = | narrator = | starring = Mohammad Gulzar Saifi | music = Joe Janiga Courtney Von Drehle | cinematography = Jeff Streich Irene Taylor Brodsky | editing = Bill Weber | studio = Vermilion Films | distributor = Home Box Office | released = | runtime = 38 minutes | country = United States | language = English Urdu Hindi | budget = | gross = The Final Inch is a short documentary about the effort to eradicate polio. It was directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky and focuses on health workers on the front lines of the fight to eliminate the disease.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/20/polio.final.itch/index.html |title=Polio makes its 'Final Inch' toward global eradication |last=Yates |first=Kara |date=February 20, 2009 |publisher=CNN|accessdate=May 27, 2009}} It was filmed on location in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India and received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 81st Academy Awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.documentary.org/content/meet-academy-award-nominees-irene-taylor-brodsky-final-inch |title=Meet the Academy Award Nominees: Irene Taylor Brodsky--'The Final Inch' |last=White |first=Thomas |date=15 February 2009 |publisher=International Documentary Association |accessdate=May 28, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1605568/story.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226140422/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1605568/story.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 26, 2009 |title=2009 Oscar Winners List |publisher=MTV |accessdate=May 28, 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=film&film=The%20Final%20Inch%20Film |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705124025/http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=film&film=The%20Final%20Inch%20Film |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 5, 2009 |title=81st Annual Academy Awards - Nominations |publisher=Oscar.com |accessdate=May 27, 2009}}{{cite web |url = http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=12048 |title = Oscar nominated films Slumdog & The Final Inch raise Polio awareness |date = February 16, 2009 |publisher = Business of Cinema |accessdate = May 28, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090220054800/http://businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=12048 |archive-date = 2009-02-20 |url-status = dead |url=http://wweek.com/editorial/3519/12334/ |title=POW! Down goes polio |last=Mesh |first=Aaron |date=March 18, 2009 |publisher=Willamette Week |accessdate=May 28, 2009 |archive-date=March 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322140042/http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3519/12334/ |url-status=dead
The film debuted on HBO on April 1, 2009.{{cite web |url = http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/090126_news_finalinchfilm.aspx |title = Documentary on polio debuts on HBO 1 April |date = March 31, 2009 |publisher = Rotary International/The Rotary Foundation |accessdate = 2009-05-28 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090418005421/http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/090126_news_finalinchfilm.aspx |archive-date = 2009-04-18 |url-status = dead |url=http://www.unicef.org/immunization/index_49102.html |title=Window closing on chance to push polio 'The Final Inch' towards eradication |last=Niles |first=Chris |work=UNICEF |date=April 3, 2009 |publisher=UNICEF|accessdate=May 27, 2009}} the philanthropic division of Google.{{cite web |url=http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/thefinalinch/synopsis.html |title=The Final Inch |publisher=HBO Documentary Films |accessdate=May 27, 2009}}{{cite journal |last=Vincent |first=Glyn |title=Sound Stages |journal=Columbia Magazine |issue=Winter 2007-08 |pages=paragraph 13 |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/Winter2008/SoundStages.html|accessdate=May 27, 2009}}
Background
The Final Inch focuses on the efforts that were ongoing to eradicate polio in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (it has since been eradicated in India; efforts continue in Pakistan and Afghanistan). The corollary goal of worldwide eradication of polio has attracted attention, but "getting rid of the last 1 percent has been like trying to squeeze Jell-O to death."
The philanthropic division of Google backed the film's production to promote public awareness about polio and to raise awareness about the efforts of public health workers and volunteers fighting the disease in counties around the world. They approached Brodsky about making the film and she accepted the task of educating the public to the ongoing problem.
Many of the movie's scenes were shot in slum areas of India and Pakistan during "National Immunization Day" in April 2007. Brodsky wanted to include more comprehensive coverage of the polio problem in Afghanistan, but was unable to do so due to the threat of violence and because of social barriers. The production's ability to film in Afghanistan was hampered by increased danger to the film crew. Producer Tom Grant had to wear a bulletproof vest while filming along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, even while under constant U.N. protection.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/documentary-on-polio-battle-vies-for-oscar/ |title=Documentary On Polio Battle Vies For Oscar |last=Smith |first=Stephen W. |date=February 20, 2009 |access-date=May 28, 2009 |work=CBS News}} The crew was often denied access to homes because of familial protocols that forbid a man entering a home with women in it when no husband is present.
Synopsis
The film depicted the problems still occurring fifty years after the development of the polio vaccine, and shows areas where the polio virus was still found in several countries around the world. Without vaccinations, it could re-emerge and re-infect regions where it was eradicated decades ago, and the film also notes that the first line of defense is a dedicated and continual effort by international health workers going door-to-door to ensure every child is vaccinated.
The Final Inch shows that there was an opportunity to eradicate polio from India (the last case of wild polio in India was reported on 13 January 2011 and the WHO announced the eradication of poliomyelitis in the region on 27 March 2014) and honors the work of health services and service volunteers. It recalls the devastating polio epidemics in the United States that occurred during the 1930s and 1950s and discusses the dangers of a resurgence that still remain in the United States unless the disease is wiped out worldwide. Obstacles to eradication include lack of awareness, the large number of children requiring vaccination, geographical dispersal of the populations, social mores, religious beliefs, and suspicion of domestic and foreign governments. The movie shows that many of those at risk remain ignorant of polio's epidemiology and believe the disease is "American made", fostering a reluctance to be vaccinated.
Film festivals
The Final Inch was screened in April 2009 at the Salem Film Festival and was described as being "profoundly moving" in its revealing coverage of the polio virus's ongoing impact, and was described as a "dramatic testament to those working on the front lines of health care".
Select list of festival entries
- Salem Film Festival, Oregon.
- Maratea Film Festival, Italy.
Partial cast
- Martha Mason
- Dr. Ashfaq Bhat
- Dr. Larry Brilliant
- Dr. David Heymann
- Munzareen Fatima{{cite news |url = http://www.headlinesindia.com/state-news/uttar-pradesh/meeruts-war-on-polio-finds-a-global-face-7412.html |title = Meerut's war on polio finds a global face |date = February 20, 2009 |publisher = Headlines India |accessdate = May 28, 2009 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130125021702/http://www.headlinesindia.com/state-news/uttar-pradesh/meeruts-war-on-polio-finds-a-global-face-7412.html |archive-date = 2013-01-25 |url-status = dead
- Mikail Davenport
- Mohammad Gulzar Saifi{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/India_is_flavour_of_Oscar_season/rssarticleshow/4028101.cms |title=India is flavour of Oscar season |date=January 25, 2009 |publisher=Times of India |accessdate=May 28, 2009 |first1=Manjari |last1=Mishra}}
Additional sources
- BBC News, "Final Inch towards the Oscars"{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7898858.stm |title=Final Inch towards the Oscars |last=Pandey |first=Geeta |publisher=BBC News |access-date=2009-05-27 | date=February 19, 2009}}
- IBN, "Not just Slumdog..., The Final Inch too in Oscar race"{{cite news |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/not-just-slumdog-the-final-inch-too-in-oscar-race/84325-8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205175003/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/not-just-slumdog-the-final-inch-too-in-oscar-race/84325-8.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 5, 2009 |title=Not just Slumdog..., The Final Inch too in Oscar race |date=February 3, 2009 |publisher=IBN |accessdate=May 27, 2009}}
- UNICEF, "Academy Award recognition for India’s fight to eradicate polio"{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/media/media_48106.html |title=Academy Award recognition for India's fight to eradicate polio |date=February 18, 2009 |publisher=UNICEF |accessdate=May 28, 2009 |archive-date=May 14, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514081414/http://www.unicef.org/media/media_48106.html |url-status=dead
References
References
- (27 March 2014). "Polio-free certification: WHO South-East Asia". WHO.
- (27 March 2014). "WHO South-East Asia Region certified polio-free". WHO.
- McNeil, Donald. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/health/01polio.html?ref=science In Battle Against Polio, a Call for a Final Salvo."] ''New York Times.'' February 1, 2011; excerpt, "... getting rid of the last 1 percent has been like trying to squeeze Jell-O to death. As the vaccination fist closes in one country, the virus bursts out in another .... The [eradication] effort has now cost $9 billion, and each year consumes another $1 billion."
- "The Final Inch". Salem Film Festival.
- [http://www.salemfilmfestival.com/2009/films/features/finalinch.html ''Final Inch,''] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-10-18 Salem Film Festival. April 2009)
- [http://www.affaritaliani.it/entertainment/maratea_film_festival180809.html "Francis Ford Coppola padrino del Maratea Film Festival,"] ''Affaritaliani.'' 18 August 2009.
- "The disease and the virus". Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
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