Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico – The Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) is excited to announce that their documentary Cradling the Heart was awarded Best Short Film at the 2025 Quetzalcoatl Indigenous International Film Festival!
The film highlights the work of Dr. Leslie Korn and her team as they bring a specialized form of medical massage and physical therapy for Type 2 Diabetes to rural communities in Cabo Corrientes, Jalisco, Mexico, where the disease impacts two out of every three adults.
Through a generous grant from the Massage Therapy Foundation, Dr. Korn has been able to train local therapists to offer this much-needed therapy to underserved populations. The film explores the challenges our communities face and the tangible benefits the project provides, from pain relief to improved quality of life.
CWIS’s talented multimedia team was instrumental in capturing key moments of this work, helping to bring this powerful story to life and share it with a wider audience.
Dr. Korn, who has worked for 50 years in this region, continues training local therapists in expanding on the work depicted in the film and bringing healing to even more people.
Click HERE to watch the film and read more about the project.
Donate to the project, which helps the underserved people in Cabo Corrientes and Puerto Vallarta area, and deliver treatment to more individuals by clicking HERE.
Leslie Korn has lived and worked in Banderas Bay since 1973 conducting research in Traditional Medicine of Mexico. She is a Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health-educated clinician in clinical practice in Mental Health Nutrition, Integrative Medicine and the prevention of dementia and cognitive decline. She is the author of 10 books, including ‘Preventing & Treating Diabetes Naturally: The Native Way’. To learn more about her work, visit DrLeslieKorn.com. She can be reached at lekorn(at)cwis.org.