Two of Sightsavers’ films about inclusive education and trachoma have won awards at the fifth Charity Film Awards, which celebrate the best films in the sector.

The gold and bronze awards were presented at a ceremony in central London on 22 March 2022, hosted by actress and comedian Ronni Ancona. The Charity Film Awards joined forces with the Smiley Movement to celebrate films that increase awareness, change attitudes and behaviours, or raise donations for good causes.

Sightsavers’ Equal World campaign film ‘A message from students in Sierra Leone’, which won gold in its category, was created to support an open letter to global leaders ahead of the G7 summit held in 2021. The film highlights the global learning crisis that has led to millions of children, particularly girls, missing out on education. The film features a group of students with disabilities who are part of a Sightsavers-supported inclusive education programme in Sierra Leone. The students talk about the situation facing children with disabilities and encourage viewers to sign the open letter calling on world leaders to invest in inclusive education.

Sightsavers’ film ‘Trachoma elimination in The Gambia’ won a bronze award in the ‘Long-form film category for charities with a turnover of more than £20 million’. The gold award in the category went to Greenpeace UK, with silver awarded to WWF UK. The film shares the story of how in April 2021, after three decades of hard work, the World Health Organization confirmed that The Gambia had eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, making it the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to eliminate the disease. Sightsavers celebrated this historic achievement by sharing the story of The Gambia’s journey to elimination.