Sundance: New Doc Explores How Toxic Stress Is Preventable (Exclusive Video)

Is toxic stress preventable?

Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope, a new documentary making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, notes how extremely stressful experiences in childhood can alter brain development. The results are both physical and social, as it’s understood to be one of the leading causes of everything from heart disease and cancer to substance abuse and depression, plus a greater risk for homelessness, prison time and early death.

The Hollywood Reporter’s exclusive clip from the one-hour doc, directed by James Redford (HBO’s Toxic Hot Seat), offers a glimpse of how experts are collaborating in various studies to prevent toxic stress, as opposed to a healthy amount of anxiety.

Resilience is produced by Redford and Karen Pritzker, with Regina K. Scully as an executive producer and Dana Schwartz as a co-producer.

Watch the clip above.