This year's Montefiore Einstein Hospital holiday story focuses on home healthcare workers, who help patients recover from procedures in the comfort of home.

In the spot, dual plotlines tell the story of a toy shop owner recovering with the aid of a Montefiore Einstein home-care therapist and a classic holiday town that mysteriously isn’t experiencing the holidays.

Thoughtful editing and a cinematic score guide the viewer, with both gravity and levity, toward the emotional crescendo where the two stories come together. It’s only then we realize that the holiday town exists within the man’s toy shop, and the holidays cannot exist without his presence.

By immersing the viewers in a world and allowing them to connect the dots themselves, this film hopes to leave a lasting impression about the care Montefiore provides its patients and tell a bigger story about the importance of caring for each other in our community.

Montefiore Einstein Hospital is a non for profit institution that truly operates as a “hospital without walls” and believes in giving access to modern health care to everyone since its founding in 1884 in the Bronx.

Every year, for the past three years, Montefiore Einstein has created a holiday film that we always aim to make iconic. The brief for this year’s film was to focus our story on the team of Montefiore Einstein home healthcare workers who help patients recover from procedures in the safety and comfort of their own homes. Our goal was to create a spot that highlights this commendable service but also, as with each year, to inspire viewers with a bigger message about the holiday spirit, the importance of community, and the undeniable truth that Caring, in fact, Makes Magic.

In the spot, dual plotlines tell the story of a toy shop owner recovering from surgery with the aid of a Montefiore Einstein Hospital home-care therapist, and a classic holiday town, that for some mysterious reason, isn’t experiencing the holidays.

A masterful direction of this piece was critical, as it needs to both tease and support these dual worlds, the real and the fantastical, bringing the audience along on two journeys that come together at just the right moment–the emotional crescendo.

It’s a complex story with a lot going on, and the director manages to keep us engaged without being too heavy-handed in its storytelling. The performances of the actors, the cinematography and the production design all artfully guide the viewer through both beautifully crafted worlds until they collide and lets the viewer come to their own conclusions, and in doing so earn their emotions, rather than spoon-feeding them.

Montefiore Einstein Hospital is a non-profit that has believed in giving access to modern healthcare to everyone and operated as a “hospital without walls” since its founding in 1884 in the Bronx.

Despite its unwavering commitment to health care and deep roots in the community, Montefiore faces an unjust stigma as a second-tier, busy ER hospital lacking in care and innovation. Nevertheless, Montefiore continues to operate beyond its walls, bringing health care directly to patients through programs like School Health, Home Care, and Mobile Health vans. This allows Montefiore to provide health care in non-traditional settings, breaking down barriers to healthcare access in the Bronx.

Montefiore’s highly skilled professionals provide care where and when patients need it, including in their own homes, which was especially crucial during the pandemic. Their mission to heal, teach, discover, and advance the health of their communities is always at the heart of their work.