Havas Geneva: behind the curtain of a hospital
Life in a hospital can be very stressful for a species with its endless tests and examinations. That’s why dying works Theodora Foundation has been working with Swiss hospitals since 1993 to enable children in hospital to take a break from everyday life. The dream doctors are artists from the Theodora Foundation who use the art of performance during their daily visits to Swiss hospitals. By stimulating their imagination, they enable the hospitalized children to escape from the sometimes complicated everyday life and to rediscover the joy of lightheartedness.
“Behind the Curtain” is a new creative workshop concept proposed by Havas Geneva for the Theodora Foundation, according to a statement. The aim of the workshop is to use existing objects to transform the children’s normal hospital room into the stage for a magical adventure: the hospital curtain serves as a gateway to an imaginary world that BECOMES reality.
In 2022, the “Behind the Curtain” workshop encouraged young patients from the Lucerne Children’s Hospital and the University Hospital of Vaud (CHUV) to use their imagination to invent a unique story. From this story, developed by the children under the guidance of the Dream Doctors, a new film has emerged: «Rosie and the Rainbow».
From the “Cruel Nothing” stealing the colors of the rainbow to Rosie’s quest to find them across five enchanted worlds, the story elements give a glimpse of the feelings a hospitalized child can have in his hospital room on a daily basis.
Havas Geneva provided the concept and creative platform, Unit9 Films directed and produced the film, bringing the children’s ideas to the screen. After seeing some footage from the workshop, the Havas team knew there should be a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign as well. This experience also resulted in a fully-fledged documentary film that allows viewers to immerse themselves in the environment of the hospital.
Directed and produced by Unit9 Films, the documentary Behind the Curtain delves into the special relationship between the Dream Doctors and the children, but also proves that no matter what the situation, a child is always able to surprise us and see things differently.
Gabriel Mauron, ECD at Havas Geneva, comments: «It’s not often that you see commercials in the form of a 10-minute documentary and a film. We think it’s great that this format allows you to really understand ideas, the wonderful work of the foundation and the very special relationship between the dream doctors and the young patients. The completion of Rosie and the Rainbow, an ode to optimism, shows how finding art and creativity can be used as a form of therapy, helping children regain their light-hearted spirits, even in the cramped confines of a hospital ward.”
Luke and Joseph, directors of Unit9 Films, add: “This is a very special project. Traveling to Switzerland and experiencing firsthand the important work of the Theodora Foundation was truly inspiring. It was really exciting to get these kids to contribute to the film. You helped write the story of ‘Rosie and the Rainbow’, it’s basically your film. We hope these two posts will help raise awareness of Theodora Foundation as it does vital work and really helps many children who have to stay in hospital for a long time.”
The film “Rosie and the Rainbow” will be shown exclusively in a cinema in Lausanne and one in Lucerne, accompanied by the dream doctors of the Theodora Foundation and the children who helped write this story.
The film and the documentary “Behind the curtain” will be available online at www.HinterDemVorhang.ch from December 2022. On the platform you have the opportunity to secure a ticket with which you can support the amazing work of the Theodora Foundation with children in the hospital.
Responsible at Theodora Foundation: Franco Genovese (Head of Communications), Patrizia Brosi, Seda Mediano (Project Management), Jan Poulie, André Poulie (Vice Presidents); Responsible at Havas Village Geneva: Gabriel Mauron (Co-CEO, ECD), Mathieu Cuvelier, Pierre-Antoine Gilles, Hadi Hassan-Helou, Tom Wrigglesworth, Matt Robinson, Simeon Brandner (Creatives), Solenn Laurent (Account Director), Camille Delesalle (Co-CEO); Documentary and Film Production: Unit9 Films (Producer), Luke & Joseph (Directors), David Procter (DOP), Andrew Davies and Adam Dolman (EP), Harry Starkey-Midha (Producer), Daisy Heathwood (PM), Absolute (VFX and Sound), Toby O’Connell, Jasmine Cooper, Antonio Jimenez, Joseph Tang (Flame Artists), Rahul Karavadra, Cameron Shanks (Nuke Artists), Joe Marsden (Sound Designer), Jenna Le Noury (Executive Producer), Rosanne Crisp (Senior Producer), Yasmin Tilly (Junior Producer), Grizzle (Animation), George Stocking (Compositor), Freddie Littlewood (Animation Director), Ruby Taylor (Lead Animator); Music & Sound: Luke Seamore (music for Doco), King Lear (music for film), Sarah Giles @ King Lear (music supervisor); Color: Steffan Perry @ Company 3 (class), Chris Anthony @ Company 3 (color leader); Digital Production: Kévin Lagier (Creative), Clapy and UltraNoir (Studio). (pd/cbe)