News & Stories , Sierra Leone

Jonathan’s MiracleFeet wins Grand Prix in WHO’s Health for All Film Festival

June 06, 2023

“Films are a powerful way to raise awareness, improve understanding and encourage action.”

The short film, Jonathan’s Miracle Feet just won the Grand Prix prize for the Universal Health Coverage category in the World Health Organization’s 4th annual Health for All Film Festival.

This film was selected as the overall winner from an initial pool of over 780 submissions from around the world. Seeing clubfoot profiled at such a high level showcases the importance of storytelling to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and incite action.

Visibility like this is critical for our global momentum and mission, especially for the 85% of children born with clubfoot who still lack access to proper care. Awareness among global policymakers can change that.

About the Film

The film, commissioned by MiracleFeet and produced and directed by Mamihasina Raminosoa and Nantenaina Rakotondranivo of DDC International, documents the story of a family in Sierra Leone overcoming tragedy and finding hope for the future through their son’s clubfoot treatment.  

MiracleFeet Film Wins Grand Prix at WHO’s Health for All Film Fest 2023

WHO’s selection is important in recognizing clubfoot, a condition for which myths and misperceptions persist, despite it being the most common congenital cause of physical disability worldwide. Recognition among global health organizations and policy leaders is key to raising awareness about the importance and extreme impact of clubfoot’s low-cost treatment and reducing stigma for people living with the condition.

See Jonathan’s full story here.

Nantenaina-Rakotondranivo-MF-SL-JohnatanNika-2-1

About the festival

Special Prize on Rehabilitation: films telling stories about the life changing impact that rehabilitation has on people’s lives. Rehabilitation addresses the impact of a health condition on a person’s everyday life and ensures that people remain as independent as possible, while continuing to participate in education, work and meaningful life roles. 

240 million children with disabilities worldwide cannot access the rehabilitation they need, and most people will require rehabilitation at some point in their lives, for injury, disease, illness, or decline in function with age. Many countries are not equipped to respond to existing rehabilitation needs.

The Health for All Film Festival (HAFF) is based on the shared assumption that audio-visual language is one of the key elements of WHO’s “Communicating for health impact” approach. Well-produced and well-targeted short films can even improve the health status of some groups by encouraging behavior change or providing knowledge, motivation, or skills needed for people to take action. Each entry competes for the Grand Prix prizes in four categories:

The competition has received 4,300 films from 110 countries since it started in 2020.

Help champion local filmmaking, Jonathan’s story, and MiracleFeet’s mission by sharing this story and by supporting our work.

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—including you.

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