New Award Honors Powerful Health and Medical Storytelling that Raises Awareness and Inspires Action
The New York Festivals® TV & Film Awards and Radio Awards have partnered with AwareNow Media to launch the AwareNow Award, a new honor recognizing storytelling that uses the power of film, audio and documentary storytelling to raise awareness and inspire action around health and medical issues.
Formed to sustain positive change one story at a time, AwareNow Media is the official storytelling platform for causes, using film, editorial content and storytelling initiatives to bring attention to people, issues and organizations working to create meaningful change. The partnership brings together two international organizations that share a belief in the power of storytelling to inform, connect and inspire positive change.
“I’m thrilled that New York Festivals is partnering with AwareNow Media on this new special award. Our TV & Film and Radio Awards have a long history of recognizing award-winning health and medical documentary storytelling. These stories can be an inspiration for so many.
We hope the AwareNow Award will put an even brighter spotlight on this type of programming and encourage the filmmakers and audio storytellers around the world who use their craft to share knowledge, raise awareness, and inspire positive action.”—Rose Anderson, EVP, New York Festivals
Recent New York Festivals’ winning entries have explored contemporary health storytelling across both competitions, demonstrating how documentary storytelling can bring greater understanding to complex health issues while putting real people and their experiences at the center of the story. Examples include:
Vapors of Death – 2026 TV & Film Awards, CNA/Mediacorp Pte Ltd.
Gold, Documentary: Health/Medical Information
Vapors of Death investigates the growing crisis of drug-laced vapes, examining how young people are being drawn in by sweet flavors and misleading claims while confronting the health and social consequences of addiction. Through the experiences of healthcare professionals, legal experts, victims and families across Asia and the UK, the documentary exposes a growing public-health threat and the lack of awareness surrounding its long-term effects.
The Network – 2026 Radio Awards, Futuro Media Group/ NPR’s Embedded & Latino USA
Gold, Documentary: Health/Medical
The Network traces the decades-long evolution of a grassroots movement that helped women across Latin America access safer abortions outside the medical system and examines its growing relevance in the United States. Through reporting across four countries and firsthand accounts from women, healthcare professionals and activists, the documentary explores how a “whisper network” evolved into a powerful model of community-based support and reshaped conversations around reproductive health.
Mary Bourke Who Cares- 2026 Radio Awards, Unusual Productions/BBC Radio 4
Gold, Documentary: Health/Medical
After her husband Simon suffers a stroke that changes their lives forever, comedian Mary Bourke becomes his full-time caregiver, forcing both to navigate a new reality and a transformed relationship. In Mary Bourke: Who Cares, Mary uses standup comedy, personal storytelling and conversations with fellow comedians who are also caregivers to explore the physical, emotional and often unexpected realities of caring for a loved one, bringing humor and humanity to an experience shared by millions.
That same belief in the power of personal stories to create awareness and inspire action is central to AwareNow Media’s mission.
In 2026, AwareNow Media premiered Because I Can, a feature documentary following MS warrior Allié Merrick McGuire and her lifelong friend, Angela Bernard. When Allié was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Angie promises to run a marathon in her honor, setting in motion a personal story of friendship, advocacy and resilience. The film reflects AwareNow Media’s commitment to turning personal stories into awareness, connection and action.
“Some stories do more than inform us. They help us understand one another, challenge what we thought we knew and remind people facing difficult diagnoses or circumstances that they are not alone. Through the AwareNow Award, we’re proud to partner with New York Festivals to honor storytellers who are using their craft to bring greater awareness, humanity and understanding to health and medical stories that deserve to be seen and heard.”—Allié Merrick McGuire, Co-Founder & CEO, AwareNow Media
The AwareNow Award will be presented to the highest-scoring submission across the Health/Medical Information Documentary and Health/Medical Documentary categories in the NYF TV & Film and Radio competitions.
Entries in the NYF TV & Film and Radio Awards are evaluated by international juries of award-winning industry professionals, with submissions judged on the strength of the work and according to each competition’s established criteria.
The 2027 TV & Film Awards eligibility window runs from September 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026. The deadline for entering is December 31, 2026.
To be eligible for the 2027 Radio Awards competition, entries must have been produced, released, screened, aired, published, issued or streamed between January 1, 2026, and January 31, 2027.
To enter, explore categories, and view the 2027 competition rules and regulations, visit New York Festivals’ TV & Film Awards and Radio Awards.