Carter Center Announces Oct. 1 Release Date for ‘The President and the Dragon’

Sep. 9, 2025

Official Trailer Now Available Online

ATLANTA (Sept. 9, 2025) — “The President and the Dragon,” a powerful new documentary chronicling former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s decades-long fight to eradicate an ancient parasite, has set an Oct. 1 release, coinciding with what would have been President Carter’s 101st birthday. The film will debut on-demand across Amazon, Hoopla, and Verizon Fios, with additional platforms to follow.

President Carter championed the global effort to eradicate Guinea worm disease from 1986 until his death in December 2024. “The President and the Dragon,” directed by Waleed Eltayeb and Ian D. Murphy, tells how President Carter and an eclectic group of public health professionals, local volunteers, and ex-child soldiers braved treacherous terrain and armed conflicts to reduce Guinea worm cases from 3.5 million in 1986 to just 15 last year.

“My grandfather desperately wanted to outlive Guinea worm, and he came remarkably close to doing it,” said Jason Carter, Carter Center board chair and the eldest grandson of President Carter and the late First Lady Rosalynn Carter. “He witnessed firsthand what freeing a community from this terrible disease meant to people’s daily lives, and The Carter Center will keep working until there are zero cases.”

Eltayeb, a Sudanese filmmaker based in Dubai, traveled with his crew to remote locations on the African continent where the waterborne disease remains endemic, capturing the difficult — and often dangerous — work of the “Guinea worm warriors” working on the frontlines of public health. Guinea worm disease is close to becoming the second human disease ever eradicated, following smallpox.

“This is a story of hope, and of the power of ordinary people in even the most isolated communities to improve their lives,” Eltayeb said. “There is no vaccine for Guinea worm disease, so progress comes one village at a time when people work together in places like South Sudan and Chad. It’s a story the world needs to hear now more than ever.”

The film is produced by Touchline’s Shaun McGuckian and Eltayeb, co-produced by Brave Road’s Andrew Bishop (ESPN’s “26.2 to Life”) and Tim Byron Owen (“The Matchstick Man”), and distributed worldwide by Buffalo 8.

Collaboration has always been essential in the journey toward eradication, so thank you to our partners and donors, including the ministries of health and local communities, for making this work possible. See the list here.

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Contact: The Carter Center, media@cartercenter.org
Buffalo 8, Lauryn Danesh Jafari, Lauryn@Buffalo8.com

Related Tags

Guinea Worm
Health

THE CARTER CENTER
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 with the purpose of advancing human rights, alleviating human suffering, and improving the quality of life for people around the world. When The Carter Center assumed leadership of the global Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1986, an estimated 3.5 million human cases occurred annually in 21 countries in Africa and Asia. Today, the water-borne disease has been reduced by 99.99%, down to only 15 human cases in 2024. Working closely with ministries of health and local communities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and many others, more than 80 million cases have been averted. Guinea worm disease will be the second human disease in history, after smallpox, to be eradicated. It would be the first parasitic disease to be eradicated and the first disease to be eradicated without the use of a vaccine or medicine.

BUFFALO 8

Buffalo 8 Distribution makes film distribution transparent and accessible by helping filmmakers reach global audiences through innovative marketing strategies and our direct output deals with streaming platforms, networks, and international partners. Based in Santa Monica, Buffalo 8 is a full-service film and media company focused on production, post-production, finance, and distribution. At Buffalo 8, we are an entrepreneurial culture fused with a love of storytelling, the creative arts, and a passion for delivering original stories.

TOUCHLINE

Waleed Eltayeb and the Touchline team inform and engage audiences through stories that matter. Touchline specializes in crafting transformative narratives that inspire understanding and empathy, driving impactful initiatives across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

BRAVE ROAD

Brave Road is an award-winning entertainment company creating purposeful media for the benefit of positive social impact.

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