Dentsu Creative is marking DonateLife Thank You Day with the premiere of documentary ‘Second Chance Champions’, which tells the story of athletes competing in the World Transplant Games held in Perth earlier this year, on 10 and 10 Play on November 17.
Filmed, edited and produced by Dentsu Creative, the documentary aligns with Dentsu Creative’s ambition to create culture, rather than borrow it, and create work that is good for society. It is 100 per cent created and owned by Dentsu Creative.
“This documentary is about raising awareness of organ donation and helping honour the legacies of organ donors and those that receive this life-changing gift. It’s about human resilience and strength and the warmth that comes with that when someone is given a second chance at life after very nearly not being around anymore,” said Liam.
“This film is the first of its kind in respects to how transplant recipients are shown, it takes us away from the hospital where we only see people who are either sick or getting surgery and shows the inspirational lives that are created by those who have been lucky enough to receive the gift of life.”
‘Second Chance Champions’ tells the story of Rezwan Mohammed, a Rohingan refugee, and Linda and Laurie Hindom, husband and wife living donor and donor recipient and their participation in the World Transplant Games in Perth earlier this year.
The documentary seeks to honour the legacy of donors and donor recipients, collaborating with The World Transplant Games to create a medal that can be split in two, allowing the winner to share their medal with their organ donor or their family.
The World Transplant Games had athletes and teams from 45 countries participate in 17 different sports in Perth, Western Australia. It is designed to encourage organ donation and raise awareness of the need for people to register organ donation intent and to have conversations with their next of kin.
“There are 1,800 people on the organ donor list currently waiting for a second chance at life and a lot more on dialysis who are moments away from joining that list. Whilst that number may feel solvable with 1 in 3 Australians already on the register there are many factors that actually make the chances of someone being given the gift of life a lot smaller,” said Liam.
“Only 454 eligible organs were able to go to donors last year. With the government removing the option to sign up to the register off driving licenses it’s in our hands, as fellow humans, to go out of our way and sign up.”
Dentsu Creative’s entertainment offering seeks to create projects that encompass everything from original content and formats and behind-the-scenes extras to live events, and music soundtracks.
Globally, Dentsu Creative’s entertainment division has launched industry-leading original Gaming, TV and Podcast properties, and produced and funded original entertainment content for platforms including Netflix, Amazon and Discovery, including producing the Emmy-nominated HBO Max Series ‘The Cost of Winning’ with P&G Studios.
“This is the type of work that gets me out of bed as a creative and is the perfect example of what Dentsu Creative’s entertainment division can do. It’s about making media that people want to engage with and consume regardless of the fact that its intentions are exactly the same as a TV spot. It’s about telling real, human stories and connecting with audiences across all platforms. In a way that makes sense for that platform,” said Liam.
‘Second Chance Champions’ will be available to watch on 10 and 10 Play on November 17 at 1pm, with an encore showing on 10 on November 19 at 9am.