We were thrilled to have been contacted by our friend Mike Hill, of Moonshine Movies, recently to let us know about his newest project – Little Stars. In the one-hour Little Stars film they have captured surprisingly life-affirming stories of children around the world (8 countries to date in the USA, South Africa, India, Australia, Malaysia, Italy, Jordan and Russia) living with life-limiting illnesses.
“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what palliative care is and how it works so parents don’t know to ask for it, or if it’s offered they are scared that it means they are giving up on their child, which is NOT correct. Children are particularly at risk of inadequate pain management due to age related factors, limited access to essential medicines and misconceptions about how to effectively treat their pain. These vulnerable children and families are suffering. They are largely invisible. But for those who are receiving care, the results are extraordinary.
We have focused Little Stars on the surprisingly life-affirming stories of children around the world living with life-limiting illnesses in order to show the immense benefits of this medical specialization. Against the odds, these very special kids are making the most of every moment thanks to the support of their families, in harmony with passionate ‘pain and palliative care’ teams.”
Mike and his team are currently running an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to complete the film in time to host a red carpet World Premiere of Little Stars at the World Cancer Congress in December this year. Acclaimed British actor DAVID SUCHET CBE has agreed to narrate the film. This is BIG NEWS for the project as David is remarkably talented and has a legion of fans around the world.
Little Stars is supported by the International Children’s Palliative Care Network, Open Society Foundations, United States Cancer Pain Relief Committee, The Nando Peretti Foundation, Fondazione Maruzza Lefebvre D’Ovedio Onlus, Hospis Malaysia, CIMB Foundation, Pettus Foundation, Amit Iyer Memorial Foundation, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. The goal is that Little Stars will do tremendous good in getting this issue on the agenda of governments around the world. By supporting their campaign you will be joining this coalition in advocating for children’s palliative care. The Indiegogo campaign will close on September 25, 2014 (11:59pm PT) and at the time of this post they are 20% of the way to their goal of raising $65,000.
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