"Ava's Film"

19 October 2023

2 mins 34s

Come again?

There has been an attitudinal shift when it comes to addressing cancer in advertising communication over the past few years, but there has never been a film quite as bold as this one. BBH and Academy Films's Sophia Ray have joined forces to create a film of immense power. It is dripping with defiance... its protagonist speaks with an honesty and candour which may discomfort some, but wins nothing but admiration from DAVID.

Much like this review, Grace Chambers and Lucy Johnstone's script cleverly foreshadows what's to come, but you still might find yourself wondering where the monologue is going... until you're not.

It is a superb performance, combining rawness with emotional vulnerability to remind the viewer that those who have been through cancer want to return to a life which is as full as the one they enjoyed before their diagnosis.

For a number of reasons, this is not a film which will be shown on television during a commercial break... in itself an indictment of regulations which infantilise viewers and ignore the way programming has changed over the decades. The real shame of this though is that it will probably mean a very limited audience for this film, and the other two in the series... they deserve to be seen far and wide to help everyone adjust their attitude to cancer and its aftermath.

UK

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