Neil deGrasse Tyson is a famed Peabody-winning astrophysicist and television host who recently served as executive producer of a brand new documentary that is set to premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

The film is called “A Shot in the Arm” and centers around public health, vaccines and the anti-vaccination movement. He calls the film a “wakeup call” to misinformation surrounding vaccines.

“Misinformation is its own virus,” he explained to KTLA 5’s Sam Rubin.

“This film is an attempt to explore the reasons people have given for their decisions. In my judgment, it does it compassionately,” he said. “If you want to be an educator and take people to a new place, you can’t just beat them over the head and tell them they’re wrong. They’ll just dig their heels in more strongly.”

The astrophysicist explained how the documentary explores “all the different pathways people have gone down to attain the postures that they’ve had during the entire COVID lockdown.”

According to Lili Rodriguez, the festival’s artistic director, having this film premiere on this platform is a perfect fit as this is the first year the event is returning due to the pandemic.

“We canceled the last two years because of COVID because we wanted to have a safe festival and take care of each other,” she explained. “So, what better place to premiere this than here?”

“We’re excited! We’re doing a full in-person festival. We kick off tomorrow night and then we have full days of screenings through January 16, so it should be great,” exclaimed Lili Rodriguez, the festival’s artistic director.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival is held in Coachella Valley and runs from Jan. 5 through Jan. 16.