Theodora Foundation Transforms a Child’s Hospital Room into the Stage of a Magical Adventure

Life in a hospital can be stressful for a child, with its never ending tests and examinations.

This is why children’s charity the Theodora Foundation has been working with Swiss hospitals since 1993 with the mission of giving hospitalised children a moment of escape from everyday life.

The Dream Doctors, also known as the Giggle Doctors, are artists from the Theodora Foundation who use performance arts during their daily visits to Swiss hospitals. By stimulating their imagination, they allow hospitalised children to escape from a sometimes complicated daily life and rediscover the joy of being carefree.

'Behind The Curtain' is a new creative workshop concept proposed by Havas Geneva to the Theodora Foundation. The aim of the workshop is to transform hospitalised children's regular rooms using the objects that compose it into the stage of a magical adventure. The hospital curtain acts as the gateway to an imaginary world that becomes reality.

In 2022, young patients from Lucerne paediatric hospital and the Vaud University Hospital Center (CHUV) taking part in a “Behind the Curtain” workshop were encouraged to use their imagination to dream up a one-of-a-kind story. This story, created by the children with the guidance of the Dream Doctors, gave life to a new film: 'Rosie and the Rainbow'.

From the NOTHING that steals the colours of the rainbow, to Rosie's quest to find them in five enchanted worlds, elements within the story give insight into how a hospitalised child can feel on a daily basis in their hospital room.

Havas Geneva developed the concept and creative platform and UNIT9 Films directed and produced the film, translating the children’s ideas onto the screen. After seeing some rushes from the workshop, the team at Havas knew that an in-depth behind-the-scenes look should also have a role within the campaign. So from this unprecedented experience, a fully-fledged documentary was also born, plunging viewers into the hospital environment.

Directed and produced by UNIT9 Films, the 'Behind the Curtain' documentary is an immersion into the special relationship between the Dream Doctors and the children, but also proof that a child, whatever their situation, will always be able to surprise us and see things differently.

Gabriel Mauron, ECD at Havas Geneva, comments: "It's not very often that you see advertising taking the form of a 10 min documentary and a film. We love how this format helps truly understand the beautiful work the Foundation is doing and the very special relationship the Giggle Doctors have with the young patients. Finishing on Rosie and the Rainbow, an ode to optimism, shows how art and creativity can be used as a form of therapy and help the kids find their carefree spirit again even within the confines of a hospital ward."

Luke and Joseph, directors at UNIT9 Films, add: “This feels like a special project, to be able to travel to Switzerland and experience Theodora Foundation’s important work first-hand was really inspiring. It was really exciting to get these children to contribute to the film, they helped write the story of ‘Rosie and the Rainbow’, essentially it’s their film. We hope these two content pieces help raise awareness for Theodora Foundation, it’s vital work and really does help the lives of many children who have to stay in hospitals for long periods.”

The film 'Rosie The Rainbow' will be exclusively screened in one cinema in Lausanne and one in Luzerne, in the company of the Dream Doctors of the Theodora Foundation and the children who co-wrote this magnificent story.

The film and documentary 'Behind The Curtain' is available to the public online from December 2022 on www.BehindTheCurtain.ch. On the platform you have the opportunity to grab your ticket which will be a donation to support Theodora Foundation's amazing work with children hospitalised.

Founded in 2012, UNIT9 Films is a global production partner with a mission to create astounding content at the intersection of creativity, craft and cutting-edge cinematic storytelling. All delivered with love.

Built from a multidisciplinary roster of Directors, they are experts in crafted social commentary, creative storytelling and innovative execution.

Havas Village Geneva is an integrated agency that gathers talents from the communication world and experts in Marketing & Customer Experience. Our objective is to merge creativity and technology to transform our ideas in efficient and performing strategic concepts. All of our services propose a creative approach on every step of the thinking : from brand strategy to client experience and business performance, here in Switzerland or abroad. With a background story of 60 years in Switzerland - 25 years in Geneva – we truly believe that the most beautiful projects are the result of a strong collaboration of all the people involved. That leads directly to our philosophy shared by more than 80 collaborators : Make a meaningful difference.