Parity Pipeline

Parity Pipeline

The Calling

Directed by Asako Gladsjo

THE CALLING follows the year-long journey of students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx as they learn what it takes to become doctors in one of America’s most underserved communities. 


  • ABOUT
  • BIO
  • SCREENINGS
  • PRESS
  • CREDITS

Genre

Synopsis

THE CALLING follows the journey of a diverse group of students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx as they learn what it takes to become doctors in one of America’s most underserved communities. Over the course of an entire year, the students share the humbling challenges they face, the crises of self-doubt and exhaustion, and the moments of encouragement that inspire them to go on. In verité scenes, personal video diaries, and intimate interviews, they learn to navigate their first encounters with patients, confront the flaws and inequity in the US health care system, and question — and rediscover — the motivations that made them strive to become doctors. 


Bio

Asako Gladsjo is an award-winning documentary director, producer, and writer. Her recent credits include an upcoming reboot of the landmark civil rights series Eyes on the Prize for HBO; Rise and Rebuild: A Tale of Three Cities, a feature documentary co-directed with Sam Pollard; Why We Hate, a 6-hour Discovery series executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney; (Un)Well for Netflix; By Whatever Means Necessary, executive produced by Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi for Epix; the Emmy-nominated PBS special Black America since MLK: And Still I Rise; America by the Numbers for Maria Hinojosa and PBS; and Soundtracks: Songs that Made History for CNN; as well as multiple projects with Henry Louis Gates Jr. including the acclaimed six-hour PBS series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, which won Emmy, DuPont, Peabody, and NAACP Image awards, as well as multiple seasons of the PBS Series Finding Your Roots and African American Lives. In addition to her work in the United States, Gladsjo has directed and written documentaries on society, culture, race, and immigration for international broadcasters including Arte (Une Enfance Gay, Prier dans la Cité des Anges), BBC (Pandemonium), France 2 and France 5 (Peuples d’Ici, Français d’Ailleurs), and others while based in Paris. She teaches directing in the School of Visual Art’s MFA Program in Social Documentary.

Screening History

World Premiere - DC/DOX 2024

Official Selection - St Louis International Film Festival 2024

Official Selection - Orlando Film Festival 2024

Award Winner - Iris Global Health Film Festival 2024

Award Winner - Santiago Alvarez International Documentary Film Festival (Cuba) 2025

Press

"Nothing less than inspiring."
Wall Street Journal

Credits

Executive Producer - Wilma Davis

Associate Producer - Koralie Barrau

Composers - Deanna Choi, Bryan Bindon

Editor - Lawrence Jackman