Ollie's Story - A Simple Test That Could Change the Future

Client: SMA UK

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a rare disease characterised by in progressive muscle wasting and associated problems with movement, breathing, and swallowing. If identified and treated at birth, a child can go on to live a full and independent life. If treatment is delayed by even a few months the effects can be devastating or even fatal.

To raise awareness of this condition, the charity SMA UK asked us to shoot a day in the life of Ollie a 4-year-old boy affected by SMA. As moving as this may be, we didn’t feel it was the best way to rapidly engage audiences on a deep emotional level. Instead, we proposed a deeply touching film that captures not only the tragic reality of Ollie, but the injustice and tragedy of the fact that this could have been avoided. In the film, Ollie recites a stark and painful litany of the things he will never do because of SMA. The visuals juxtaposes images of Ollie as his now, with shots representing everything he has been denied – playing football, riding a bike, even eating his own birthday cake. We conclude with Ollie telling us: “A simple test could have changed my life. Your support could change many."