Sharon Stone and Emilia Clarke are part of the jury of the WHO Film Festival, Health for all

The World Health Organization (WHO) will carry out this 2022 the third edition of the Film Festival, Health for all, and as part of the day it announced the number of pre-selected films and the members of the jury.

The list of finalists is made up of about 70 films. These were selected from over 1,000 filmmakers from over 110 countries who submitted. Topics range from the trauma of war to life with COVID-19, according to a WHO statement published on March 16, 2022.

The winners will be chosen by the jury made up of Sharon Stone (actress, United States); Emilia Clarke (actress, UK); Mia Master (actress, Argentina); Anita Abada (producer, from Nigeria); Eddie Ndopu (UN SDG Advocate, South Africa) and the Dr Eckart von Hirschhausen (TV presenter, from Germany).

According to the WHO, “in the coming weeks, the judges will view the shortlisted films and recommend the winners to the WHO Director-General, who is responsible for making the final decision.”

“The success of the WHO “Health for All” Film Festival reflects the enormous interest in health and ensuring that people can achieve the highest levels of physical and mental well-being, as well as the increased awareness around the world about the importance of it,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.

“The wide diversity of topics covered in this year’s short films, and the high caliber of the judges, underscore the growing importance of the Festival as a platform for bringing urgent health-related issues to the attention of the public,” he added.

The winners will be announced in mid-May, during the virtual ceremony. Three winners will be chosen, four special prizes will also be awarded. The winners and the jury will hold several debates online.

According to the WHO, “counting the short films received in 2022, since the launch of the Festival in 2020 Almost 3,500 films have been submitted, many of them shot specifically for the occasion”.

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According to the WHO, the 70 shortlisted films can be seen online in six playlists, one for each of the three main categories of the contest: Universal Health Coverage; health emergencies; Better health and wellness; Rehabilitation; Innovation in health; and mini-short films.

It also indicates that at the end of this month they will publish another playlist (out of competition) which will contain short films from the three editions, as well as other productions from the WHO and other United Nations agencies.

The WHO invites “the public to choose one of the films, and to defend it and post comments on the story it tells or its theme, before May 10, 2022. Comments can be published in the social media using the #Film4health tag or on the YouTube playlists available on the Festival website as well as on the WHO YouTube channel. Some of the public comments will be screened during the Film Festival’s virtual awards ceremony in mid-May.” (I)