Havas Genève and Theodora Foundation transform children's hospital room into a stage

Everyday life in a hospital can be very stressful and burdensome for a child. The Theodora Foundation has been working with Swiss hospitals since 1993 to give children in hospital a break from everyday life. With their performances, Dream Doctors aim to stimulate children's imagination and offer them the opportunity to escape the sometimes complicated daily routine and rediscover the joy of light-heartedness.

Havas Genève has proposed to the Theodora Foundation the new creative workshop concept "Behind the Curtain". The aim of the workshop is to use existing objects to transform the children's normal hospital room into the stage of a magical adventure: The hospital curtain serves as a gateway to an imaginary world that becomes reality.

In 2022, as part of "Behind the Curtain", the young patients of the Lucerne Children's Hospital and the Vaud University Hospital (CHUV) were encouraged to use their imagination to invent a unique story. This story, developed by the children under the guidance of the dream doctors, gave rise to the film "Rosie and the Rainbow." The elements of the story provide a glimpse into the feelings a hospitalized child may have on a daily basis in their hospital room.

Havas Genève is responsible for the concept and the creative platform, Unit 9 Films for the direction and the film production. In addition, a documentary film was produced to immerse viewers in the hospital environment.

"It's not often that you see advertising in the form of a ten-minute documentary and film," said Gabriel Mauron, ECD at Havas Genève. "This format helps to really understand the important work of the foundation and the very special relationship between the dream doctors and the young patients. 'Rosie and the Rainbow' shows how art and creativity can be used as a form of therapy, helping children regain their carefree spirit, even in the confines of a hospital ward."

The film "Rosie and the Rainbow" will be shown exclusively in one cinema in Lausanne and one in Lucerne, accompanied by the dream doctors of the Theodora Foundation and the children who co-wrote the story. The film and the documentary "Behind the Curtain" will be online from December 2022 at. BehindTheCurtain.ch available. Buying a ticket on the platform can support the work of the Theodora Foundation with children in hospital.

Responsible at Theodora Foundation: Franco Genovese (Head of communication), Patrizia Brosi, Seda Mediano ((Project manager), Jan Poulie, André Poulie (Vice Presidents). Responsible for Havas Village Geneva: Gabriel Mauron (Co-Managing director // ECD), Mathieu Cuvelier, Pierre-Antoine Gilles, Hadi Hassan-Helou, Tom Wrigglesworth, Matt Robinson, Simeon Brandner (Creatives), Solenn Laurent (Account director), Camille Delesalle (Co-Managing director). Film production: Unit9 Films (Production), Luke & Joseph (Directors), David Procter (DOP), Andrew Davies, Adam Dolman (EP), Harry Starkey-Midha (Producer), Daisy Heathwood (PM). Responsible for Absolute (VFX & 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). Responsible for 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). Colour: Steffan Perry (Company 3, Grade), Chris Anthony (Company 3, Head of Colour). Digital Production: Kévin Lagier (Creative), Clapy and UltraNoir (Studio).