The WHO documentary short film Survivors of Violence Tell Their Stories has been selected for screening at the Beeston Film Festival. This international film festival features 120 short films from around the world in the categories of drama, comedy, animation, documentary and more.

The WHO documentary short film Survivors of Violence Tell Their Stories has been selected for screening at the Beeston Film Festival. This international film festival features 120 short films from around the world in the categories of drama, comedy, animation, documentary and more. The 13-minute documentary short film features five victims of violence in childhood, namely Ruby from the Philippines, Florence from Kenya, Jeremy from New Zealand, Stewart from Canada and Eugenie from Switzerland. Their deeply moving personal accounts demonstrate the universality of violence against children, its profound and life-long consequences, and the interventions which most helped these survivors. A common message across all the testimonials is the value of speaking up and breaking the silence on violence. A toolkit describing how to use the documentary short film and its spin off versions to advocate for violence prevention is also available. The Beeston Film Festival runs from 1-3 April 2022, and is accessed virtually.

Very few survivors of violence ever tell anyone about their experiences, or access services to seek justice and help them heal, despite devastating behavioural, physical and mental health consequences, and the widespread availability of evidence-based solutions such as the INSPIRE strategies. Testimonials raise awareness and encourage action through powerful and emotive storytelling of firsthand experiences.

The 13-min documentary is the centerpiece of the package while the shorter versions and the brief videos clips for use on social media point people towards the full documentary. In addition, there is a Toolkit which offers ways in which the testimonial videos package can be used.

For shorter version and other formats of the documentary please visit Survivors of violence tell their stories page.