Plot

Can you imagine a world without cancer? For the first time in human history, the elimination of a cancer - cervical cancer - is possible. Conquering Cancer is definitive film with a soaring ambition.

Can you imagine a world without cancer? For the first time in human history, the elimination of a cancer - cervical cancer - is possible. An action of this scale has the power to shape history: a movement so forceful it is referred to as a 'moonshot'. When NASA sent man to the moon we were presented with a literal moonshot, but Conquering Cancer is not a journey to the moon, it's a journey to the future.

Conquering Cancer is a definitive feature documentary with a soaring ambition: to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer for every women and girl. It is a passionate appeal from experts, activists and survivors. A vivid, poetic and searing plea for action. Travelling from Australia to Malaysia; Zambia to the USA; Colombia to Switzerland, Conquering Cancer declares a deep divide. Just as we are buoyed by the innovations paving the way to global elimination, we are confronted with the health and economic grip cervical cancer is having on the world's poorest women.

The story opens in a damp, multi-bed hospital ward, tinged with heat and heartache, a 30 year old Sri Lankan women is looking to the skies and praying for life. At her side are a team of anguished doctors, who know that if she lived somewhere like Australia, her fate might be different.

At a time when cervical cancer is on the brink of elimination but more than 300,000 women are still lost to the preventable disease each year, it is urgent that governments across the world prioritise cervical cancer control. In 2018, the World Health Organization called for global action to end cervical cancer this century. By doing so, it is estimated that 62 million lives could be saved.

Conquering Cancer introduces us to the inspiring medical professionals championing the global push to eliminate cervical cancer; the policymakers who are bringing prevention programs to their regions; and the women who have faced cervical cancer head-on and have emerged furiously, ready to take action against this needless disease. We are moved by their emotional narratives, as they speak candidly about treatment and recovery; tragedy and hope. Theirs is a story of extraordinary determination and heart.

When a woman dies from cervical cancer, the repercussions are immense, causing a ripple effect throughout her community. The burden affects not only the woman, but everyone in her orbit - her sisters, her brothers, her children and grandchildren. Today, failure to eliminate cervical cancer is not an option; we have the tools and the know-how to achieve this incredible feat. Now our task is to get it done.

Brimming with warmth and wonder, strength and sensitivity, Conquering Cancer knits a triumphant message: through political and financial commitment from the global community, we can overcome the impossible and eliminate this preventable disease for the next generation. The film is a salute to those who work in the field, a celebration of how far we have come, a cry for how far we have to go and a piercing call to action.