New Documentary "Creative Resolve" to Premiere at Indiana University, Challenging Global Health Inequities
BLOOMINGTON, IN — The Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, in collaboration with the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development, announces the premiere screening of the documentary "Creative Resolve: Making Human Development and Social Progress Possible." The screening will take place on Monday, April 27, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Shreve Auditorium.
The film serves as the keynote visual event for the Workshop on Measuring International Development, Advancing Equity, scheduled for the following day. Admission to both the screening and the workshop is free and open to the public.

A Vision of Solidarity in a Divided Era
"Creative Resolve" arrives at a critical juncture. Following the COVID-19 pandemic—which resulted in over 6 million deaths and a $12 trillion hit to the global economy—the film examines why global responses often fail the most vulnerable. It argues that the path forward requires more than just policy shifts; it demands a fundamental commitment to the virtue of creative resolve: the refusal to accept "tragic dilemmas" as unsolvable and the dedication to finding novel ways to fulfill human rights.
The documentary traces a lineage of successful international cooperation, proving that radical progress is possible even during periods of intense geopolitical friction. Featured historical milestones include:
The Eradication of Smallpox: How the WHO and volunteers pioneered "ring vaccinations" to conquer a global threat during the height of the Cold War.
The Rwandan HIV Response: Dr. Agnes Binagwaho’s evidence-based strategies that helped raise life expectancy from the lowest in the world (27 years) following the 1994 genocide.
The Fight for Affordable Medicine: The grassroots activism of ACT-UP and the Treatment Access Campaign that slashed the cost of HIV treatment from $12,000 to under $350 per year.

Expert Perspectives
The 20-minute film features interviews with a global roster of scholars, activists, and former international organization leaders, including:
Kaushik Basu: Former Chief Economist of the World Bank.
Ellen ‘t Hoen: Founding Executive Director of the Medicines Patent Pool.
Nicole Hassoun: Executive Director of the Global Health Impact Organization and Professor of International Studies.
Agnes Binagwaho: Former Minister of Health for Rwanda.
Smallpox Eradication Veterans: Including Jill Vickers and Kristina Engstrom, who share archival footage and first-hand accounts from the field in Afghanistan.

Event Logistics
Documentary Screening: "Creative Resolve"
Date: Monday, April 27, 2026
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Shreve Auditorium, Global and International Studies Building, Bloomington, IN
Workshop: Measuring International Development, Advancing Equity
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Room 1060, Global and International Studies Building
About the Global Health Impact Project: The Global Health Impact Project develops new frameworks for evaluating access to essential medicines (global-health-impact.org). By shifting the focus to how medications actually reach and affect the global poor, the project aims to incentivize pharmaceutical innovation that prioritizes human life over market exclusivity.
Contact: For more information, please visit the Hamilton Lugar School events calendar.