The video we created showcases the important community work of Handimachal Therapy Center for children with special needs. This non-profit rehabilitation center is based in the middle of the Kullu Valley of Himachal Pradesh (India). Because of the prevalence of disability and need of services for rehabilitation, Handimachal provides these services for free to children all across the state.
How it started
As travellers we got stuck in lockdown in India. During the second COVID lockdown in 2021, we were staying in Himachal Pradesh and looking for an opportunity to support the local community.
Nivisha, the daughter of our guesthouse family in Naggar was a little girl, who has been physically challenged since the age of three. She needs continuous therapy and care. That is how we got in touch with the dedicated professionals of Handimachal Therapy Center.
Helping out
The Handimachal staff explained to us that the financial resources are very limited and that they were in need of a promotion video to help raise money for their services. They don’t get government support and have to rely solely on sponsor contributions.
Initially, it seemed the project was not going through because of the second lockdown. Luckily, after restrictions were lifted we did get the chance to start filming. It was interesting to find that, because of the strict lockdowns, the Therapy Center came with an innovative solution of providing tele-therapy sessions to the kids online.
To shoot the video, we followed the hard working crew of Handimachal for a few days, both in the center and on location, high up in the beautiful, but rugged mountains of the Kullu Valley. Hiking to remote homes and witnessing the grave (physical) circumstances these kids like Karan and Sanvi were in, made us realize even more how much this therapy work is needed. It felt humbling to see the dedicated and personalized approach of the hardworking therapists.
Limited resources
The video was created without budget or professional camera equipment. Despite – or maybe exactly because of that – we are very proud of the end result. Not in the last place due to the leading role of the children (and their therapists) as true and heart touching movie stars.
With this video we hope to raise money to support Handimachals goal: empowering more children with special needs, and their families with therapeutic support.
We are grateful for the given opportunity to get to know Handimachal, to shoot this short video and to share it here with a bigger audience.
Enjoy!
Specifications
Project Type: short movie
Runtime: 1 minute 52 seconds
Completion Date: December 15, 2021
Production Budget: 0 EUR
Country of Origin: Netherlands
Country of Filming: India
Language: English
Shooting Format: Canon 550D, Insta360 OneX
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Film Color: Color
Writer / Director / Producer: Breuhuys
Music: Whenever / Feel – LIQWYD (http://www.soundcloud.com/liqwyd)
Entry: for the WHO Health for All Film Festival
Breuhuys 