Haven House Children's Hospice

Through Their Eyes

Sharing the hospice experience through the eyes of one child and his brother

The brief

Haven House is a hospice that cares for seriously ill children and babies. As a charity, it’s very dependent on the generosity of donors and supporters, it needs to raise around £6 million each year, just to keep going.

For Haven House’s previous fundraising campaign, we created a hugely emotional film which was pivotal to exceeding its fundraising targets. Orla's Story, focused on the experiences of a couple receiving end of life care for their child.

The success of this campaign made it a hard act to follow. Repeat donors and supporters form a warm and active audience but it’s still hugely important to engage and be fresh with the approach, compared to the previous fundraising film they saw.

In order to repeat this success in the 2025 fundraising campaign, we wanted to focus on a different aspect of what Haven House does for families. We needed to find and tell a different story.

The hero film was to be introduced by one of the charity’s patrons, Ben Shepherd, at the glittering Haven House Ball at The London Marriott Hotel, in March 2025. The goal was to create an emotional connection with the audience that would help it to raise a significant portion of its annual fundraising target in one night. It would also form part of a wider campaign on the charity’s website and social channels to attract further donations.

The approach

One would expect a children’s hospice to be a place rooted in sadness. But, that’s not the case at Haven House.

Haven House has been designed to provide opportunities for all children, including those who are non-verbal or severely disabled, to experience the richness of life, whether that’s through music, or access to sensory experiences. We wanted to connect the audience to the heart of the place by showing children being children in this setting, even those who are seriously ill. We looked for the right way to reveal the pure joy that’s experienced by many children during their time there.

Our approach for Through Their Eyes was to make a film that embodies the sensations and experiences of the child being cared for, and give them a voice through their siblings. Often the unsung heroes of hospice care, siblings frequently spend as much time at Haven House as their cared-for brother or sister. Many of the therapies and spaces are geared towards a shared experience for them, key experiences are music and sensory therapies as well as the outdoor spaces. This is where we focussed our story.

We had a wonderful family to work with - Charlie, Dylan and Mum, Ananda. What better way of engaging an audience than taking them, as much as you can, into the world of Charlie, a differently-abled child, and his brother Dylan? This was their story to tell, not ours, so we planned a filming schedule that gave them plenty of opportunities to express themselves.

Dylan was a real character! Asking him to talk about his brother and their time at Haven House felt like the very best way to guide an audience through dreamy, intimate, closely-framed footage of the boys interacting.

Charlie, though non-verbal , responds to the broad range of musical, sensory and tactile experiences available at Haven House. We captured these moments and relied on Dylan’s voiceover to tell the story and guide us through the day, sharing how his brother finds joy in small but profound ways.

We see the world of Haven House through their eyes, placing the audience directly into their world.

We selected the music to match the film, its ethereal qualities echo the footage, the lyrics perfectly express the sentiments felt by the charity and family alike. The connection and warmth of everyone involved really shine through in the final edit, expertly crafted by in-house editor Kazz Thompson.

Output

1 x 3-minute film with subtitles

2 x social edits with subtitles

Through Their Eyes contributors, Ananda, Charlie and Dylan walking in the garden at Haven House. Dylan is carrying some toy birds and the boys are talking together

Charlie and Dylan in the film Behind Their Eyes, they are birdwatching together. Dylan is holding binoculars and smiling, Charlie looks excited

Client feedback

Haven House team:

“Cried throughout the whole thing - just beautiful- well done honestly incredible film.”

“It’s absolutely wonderful, no other words really. Huge well done to all the team involved and thank you for creating such a beautiful HH film.”

“This is truly a wonderfully thought-out film, genius. LOVE it all- hats off to all involved. Beautifully done and narrated.”

Haven House CEO:

“This is an amazing piece of work. I don’t really have the words to be honest... Except to say well done to all involved.”

Ananda - Charlie & Dylan's mum:

“Athina (our carer) and I have just watched it together and there’s not a dry eye in sight! It’s been put together beautifully. Thank you. What a special project to have worked on. I feel incredibly grateful. Thank you everyone.”