Macmillan Cancer Support scoops Grand Prix trophy at 5th Charity Film Awards
| A powerful and heart-wrenching film by Macmillan Cancer Support featuring staff doing ‘whatever it takes’ to support those living with cancer has scooped the Grand Prix trophy at this year’s Charity Film Awards, presented by Smiley Movement. The film was among a series of winners – including productions from Surfers Against Sewage, Teenage Cancer Trust and Shelter – announced at the Awards ceremony at ODEON Luxe, Leicester Square with more than 500 guests in attendance.Celebrating the charities’ use of video, the winners were chosen through a combination of expert judges and public votes. The campaign generated an additional 2.5 million views on these films. One of the best outcomes from the awards was how Smiley Movement were able to massively increase the visibility of the films across all categories, regardless of whether they were awarded. For example, Teach Happy increased their views more than 5 times, from about 18k to 60k.The overall ‘People’s Choice’ Award – which received the most public votes out of all the films entered this year – went to Isha Foundation, for their film ‘Cauvery Calling: A Race To Save A River’.Other notable winners include Safenet Domestic Abuse and Support Services I’s film ‘Behind Doors’; The Scout Association’s ‘What Made Me’; Shelter’s ‘Fight For Home’; and Surfers Against Sewage’s ‘Thank you Sea’. More than 450,000 people live-streamed the 5th Charity Film Awards ceremony across Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and on Fundraising Everywhere’s virtual event platform. Nicolas Loufrani, CEO of Smiley Movement, said: “Nothing captures hearts and minds like film. These films that won this evening absolutely demonstrate the importance of film for charitable campaigning and are wonderful examples of modern charity communications.“We had more than 300 charities enter the Awards this year and generated an additional 2.5 million views across all the films. It’s a great achievement for all the charities who made it through as Finalists. Congratulations to all the winning charities.” You can watch all the films, including the winners at smileymovement.org/awards. Smiley Movement is a social enterprise, which was set up by Nicolas Loufrani, CEO of The Smiley Company. This is the first year Smiley Movement has run the Charity Film Awards, which provides an easy way for the general public to support the great work carried out by these non-profit causes. By watching, voting, and sharing these films, they have not only helped raise awareness but also learned more about the missions of these charities. Research by Smiley Movement found 92% of people want to do good in the world, but are unsure how – while 82% would volunteer more if they were better informed about the charity sector, and 40% have volunteered in the past year. They also found 99% of people believe we can solve more of society’s issues if the public engaged with charities more. To find out more about Smiley Movement and the work it does to support charities, visit smileymovement.org. |
