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A film created by Sussex based children’s health charity Action Medical Research has won two awards in the 2019 Event and Visual Communication Association (EVCOM) London Film Awards.
The charity’s ‘Born Too Soon’ film, entitled Elijah’s Story, won a Silver Award in the Brand Communication category and a Bronze Award in the Best Script category.
Action Medical Research worked with charity specialist content agency, Inspired Films, to create this very special short film.
Action’s Director of Communications, Sarah Moss, said: “This film lies at the heart of our Born Too Soon campaign. Through this, we’re seeking to raise awareness of premature birth and the very difficult and all too often tragic experiences that families may have – and the work we are doing as a charity to help prevent this heartache in the future.”
Inspired Films Director Louis Paltnoi said: “We have worked with this amazing children’s charity since 2014. Raising awareness of the need for research to help babies born too soon is so important and has a strong resonance with us. We’re delighted that Elijah’s Story has touched so many people.”
The five minute film shares the heartbreaking experiences of Jenny and James Halse whose son Elijah, born extremely prematurely, died at just 37 days old.
Funded by Action Medical Research, Professor Rachel Tribe and her team at King’s College London are working to develop a new screening test that can help identify pregnant women who are at increased risk of early delivery.
In the film, Professor Tribe describes her hopes to save more babies’ lives: “If we can develop a new test for women in early pregnancy, identifying those at risk would enable appropriate steps to be taken to protect their baby from being born too soon.”
Reflecting on the film’s success, Sarah Moss comments: “As a small charity with limited resources, we’re very aware of the power of film. Working with the team at Inspired Films who really understand our ethos and the sensitive nature of our work has made a huge difference.
She adds: “Building warm, strong relationships is key. The bravery of the Halse family following their tragic loss is truly inspiring and we are so grateful for their support. Professor Tribe’s willingness to be involved in the film also really helped. I think these awards show the importance of teamwork in creating high quality, effective communications.”
Notes to Editors
Elijah’s Story:
- The EVCOM awards are detailed here: https://www.evcom.org.uk/news/evcom-london-film-awards-the-winners
- The film can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/OV3eRvE-Gv4
Premature birth:
- In the UK, around 60,000 babies are born prematurely – before 37 weeks of pregnancy – each year and sadly, more than 1,000 will die
- Around one in every 13 babies in the UK will be born premature
- Being born too soon can have tragic consequences. It is the biggest cause of newborn death, and those who survive can grow up with life-changing conditions – including cerebral palsy, learning difficulties, blindness and hearing loss
- Professor Tribe’s study: https://action.org.uk/research/developing-new-test-identify-women-risk-premature-birth
Born Too Soon campaign
- This campaign led by Action Medical Research seeks to build an online community of families, researchers and supporters dedicated to helping prevent premature birth, and to raise £1 million for research by the end of 2020.
- Born Too Soon: https://action.org.uk/born-too-soon
Images
High resolution images of Jenny and James Halse and their sons Jonah, Amos and Gabriel, can be downloaded here (please credit Ben Rector):
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fjq7t6snkl9axdm/AADR4uVED70RtMm3_WYuSQ1sa?dl=0
High resolution images of Professor Rachel Tribe can be downloaded here (please credit Amanda Cunningham of AmandaC Photography):
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nmqo9ba9iw96u42/AADeey5Tuxb15YTplfDf2O-fa?dl=0
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For more than 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.
About Inspired Films:
Please contact Louis Paltnoi, Creative Director
T: 0845 387 0031
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Inspired Films is a UK-based, multi-award-winning, full-service content creation agency. Recently recognised as one of the UK's Top 50 Corporate Production Companies, we work across multiple sectors, with specialist expertise in charity, healthcare and education. Our visual storytellers craft innovative and engaging films that stand out and matter, from branded content, short form human interest stories and commercials to social content, VR and cutting-edge animation and graphics. In 2019 alone, Inspired’s team of talented creatives (including BAFTA-winning animators) have won seven (and been nominated for sixteen) awards for our work.