The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the 4th edition of the ‘Health for All Film Festival’ with a call for short films.
According to WHO, the call for short films (up to 8 minutes long) will begin from 31st October 2022 and will close on 31st January 2023.
The competition is opened for public institutions, nongovernmental organizations, communities of patients and of health workers, students in public health and film schools from around the world. The festival is also open to independent film-makers, production companies and TV broadcasters.
“The WHO ‘Health for All Film Festival’ has become an incredible platform for telling powerful stories from around the world about people who face all kinds of health challenges, and those who devote their lives to improving health. Films provide an authentic way for affected people to connect with others and contribute to a better understanding of the communities we serve.”
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Around 70 shortlisted films will be presented to the public in April 2023 via WHO’s Youtube channel and website. From this list, a jury of distinguished professionals, artists, activists and senior experts at WHO will select the award-winning films.
Sharon Stone, critically acclaimed actress from the USA and public advocate of health and humanitarian issues, has confirmed that she will join the jury again in 2023, having participated in the 2022 festival.
Three “GRAND PRIX” will be awarded, one for each main category, aligned with WHO’s major global public health goals: universal health coverage, health emergencies, better health and wellbeing.
Special prizes for special films
There will also be special prizes for films about climate change and health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, a student-produced film, and a very short film (1 to 2.30 minutes in length).
Winning films from the festival are helping to increase awareness and support for key health issues worldwide. With an average of 1,150 submissions each year from 110 countries, the films are increasingly being used by other institutions and partners for health promotion and education, and future synergies are being explored with WHO Academy and WHO Behavioural Insights programme.
“Storytelling is an engagement between people. It’s not just someone making a film, it’s someone watching a film. This is exactly how WHO should be transforming: Transforming how we engage with the world and this festival is just one example of how we can change our mindset.”
WHO Executive Director of Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan
In honour of WHO’s 75th anniversary in 2023, this call for films is also exceptionally open to historical films and to recent films by students sharing their vision about current challenges and future solutions to improve health. A special playlist will be created to highlight these testimonies.
Films are a powerful way to raise awareness, improve understanding and encourage positive behaviour changes, that’s why the ‘Health for All Film Festival (HAFF)’ recruits year-after-year a new generation of film and video innovators to champion and promote health issues.
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