One of a kind

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 | By Suzanne Hinchliffe

Dealing with cancer is often a confusing and frightening time for everyone involved. It demands great sensitivity and understanding, no matter if it is an adult or child suffering from the disease.

To give some assurance to children who have cancer, animation studio Aardman based-in Bristol, has developed a wonderful film called, One of a Kind - A Guide to Radiotherapy.

The short-animated film is the brainchild of Jancis Kinsman, a specialist therapeutic radiographer, to show children what it is like to have radiotherapy treatment and understand the processes of how the hospital machines can make them better.

The main character, Jenny - narrated by Molly ‘Olly’ Ollerenshaw -  has cancer and guides the viewers through the hospital, explaining the various stages, from mould room, to scan and treatment and meeting the other children in hospital.

The film is based-on and uses interviews from six children - Sophie-Louise Andrew, Harriet Clifton, Izzy Maciver, John Sidford & Doggie (his teddy is also a character in the film), Cameron Short and Molly ‘Olly’ Ollerenshaw - who have successfully completed radiotherapy at Bristol and Birmingham Radiotherapy centres.

The animation is made using Adobe Flash and After-Effects and was directed by Emma Lazenby, who recently won Best Short Film at this year’s BAFTA. She says ‘The project was a huge honour to work on for everybody involved.’

Personally, we think the film is colourful and inspiring, handling a difficult subject very well.

The DVD will be made available to all hospitals in the UK via the internet. You can watch the animation below.