WHO Health for All Film Festival
Phosphôros and Stressed: A Pandemic of Fear, films on COVID 19 among winners
by Vinay Sharma
Phosphôros, an animated film directed by Susana Beatriz Serrano from El Salvador, has been adjudged the winning entry for grand prix under the universal health coverage (UHC) category in the World Health Organisation Health for All Film Festival. The film pays a tribute to the healthcare workers saving lives amid the covid-19 pandemic.
‘Stressed: A Pandemic of Fear’, directed by Daniel Wheeler from the United Kingdom won the grand prix under the health emergencies category. The film captures the rise in stress levels among displaces children in the Middle East due to COVID-19.
In the Better Health and Well-being category the grand prix goes to ‘The Journey of Hope’, directed jointly by Jorik Dozy from the Netherlands and Sean Lin from Malaysia. won the grand prix under the Better health and well-being category. The film shows the story of Sapna in North-West India, a 10-year-old girl, who takes an eight-hour overnight train every week in order to reach a hospital where she can access affordable cancer treatment.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday announced the winners for its second edition of the ‘Health for All’ film festival. WHO Director General Dr Tedros Andhanom Ghebreyesus said that winners announced under the ‘grand prix’ will receive $10,000, while those listed for ‘special prizes’ will get $5,000 to strengthen the production of films on health.
“The 56 shortlisted films have been sorted into categories that reflect WHO’s major areas of work: Universal Health Coverage, Health emergencies, and Better health and well-being,” Dr Ghebreyesus said.
Special Mention under three main categories have gone to:
Chipatala cha pa Foni - directed by Hope Ngwira and Kat Tillman from Village Reach in Malawi has been listed for special mention under the UHC category. The film represents the Chipatala cha pa Foni project, a phone-based health services delivery center that has increased access to health care services.
Far Away - directed by Battulga Gantulga from Mongolia found its place in the special mention under the health emergencies category. This film shows how the health care workers in some communities in Mongolia were trained to respond to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Vincent Hazard’s film Match has been listed for special mention under the Better health and well-being category. It tells the story of Gregory who has been wheelchair-bound ever since he fell off a roof.
Special Prizes
The special prize for the student-produced film has gone to ‘Cefalea’ - directed by Kim Hyejin from the Republic of Korea which captures the life of a young woman living near an oil field in Albania.
‘Efun’ - directed by Anita Abada from Nigeria has won the special prize for the Health educational film aimed at youth. The film focuses on the challenging life of a young girl who is forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation.
‘The Beat of Change: Rheumatic Heart Disease’ - directed by World Heart Federation in Switzerland has won the special prize for Health equity. The film follows a young mother from Mozambique, who is diagnosed with Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and deals with stigma and lack of awareness around the disease.
Earlier in March, nearly 15 to 16 entries each were shortlisted for three main categories. Later, the jury for the film festival, comprising of critically-acclaimed artists from the film, music industries and along with the senior experts at WHO, recommend winners to WHO’s Director-General.
The WHO had received 1,200 short film entries for its ‘Health for All’ film festival from over 110 countries including India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Philippines, USA, Iran, and the UK. Nearly 40 per cent of the entries reflected on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis which has taken millions of lives and impacted livelihoods across the globe.