Photo Caption: Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, associate vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion, Department of Pediatrics, and assistant professor of pediatrics and of emergency medicine, School of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh, poses at the American Black Film Festival in Miami Beach, Florida on June 11, 2025. Owusu-Ansah attended to support the short film, “In Good Hands,” based on her own experiences as an emergency medicine physician.
By Kat Procyk
“In Good Hands,” a film based on the upcoming memoir by Sylvia Owusu-Ansah was a finalist at the American Black Film Festival in Miami Beach, Florida on June 11, 2025, and received a $5,000 prize, as part of the prestigious HBO Short Film Award Showcase.
The film was screened alongside four others for a $10,000 top prize and a qualification for the Academy Awards’ short film category. Owusu-Ansah, who served as a consultant on Max’s “The Pitt,” said the film’s presence at the festival opened doors to new studio and industry connections.
“The response mirrored what we’d seen at smaller local screenings—but on a much larger scale,” said Owusu-Ansah, associate vice chair of diversity, equity and inclusion, Department of Pediatrics, and assistant professor of pediatrics and of emergency medicine, School of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh. “What was truly validating was the audience’s empathy for the Black physician facing overt racism, microaggressions and even generational tension between doctors. The support was incredible, and the film received rave reviews.”
Based on a screenplay by 2021 Pitt alumna Yasmine Crawley, “In Good Hands” follows a character named Dr. Diana Asante, an ER doctor at the fictional Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital, as she navigates the challenges of the last patients on her shift. She treats a young white boy who is visibly unsettled by having a Black female doctor, and an African American teenager caught in a high-stakes encounter with law enforcement—both stories drawn from Owusu-Ansah’s real-life experiences as a physician.
The production used local talent both in front of and behind the camera. Crawley and Owusu-Ansah previously participated in the PITTch storytelling initiative, funded in 2021 by a Richard King Mellon Foundation grant to create more local career opportunities in southwestern Pennsylvania's growing film industry. Cinematography was led by Haji Muya, who led the charge in getting the film into production. Pittsburgh-based actress and musician Chanell Jones-Harris portrayed Asante in a performance that felt almost uncanny to Owusu-Ansah.
“She plays a better me than me,” Owusu-Ansah said.
The approximately 11-minute film was shot at the Winter Institute for Simulation, Education and Research’s main situational center at McKee Place. The production team plans to enter “In Good Hands” into more film festivals and host more local screenings soon.
Owusu-Ansah believes that, like “The Pitt,” “In Good Hands” brings more “provider-focused” storytelling to audiences rather than solely focusing on patient perspectives.
“I set out to make a film about empathy—for a Black female physician and all she endures,” Owusu-Ansah said. “What I didn’t expect was how many people, including HBO executives, said it’s something we need for the next generation of doctors. We rarely see stories from the provider’s perspective, especially those who are underrepresented. I credit capturing the film’s message so eloquently to its director, Nicholas Buchheit.”