Mectizan Donation Program: The Promise
Client
Mectizan Donation Programme
Distribution
Conference Launch + Internal Comms
Location
Africa, Latam
Editor
Bruno Miles
Director
Steve Maud
Producer
Joana Soares
Composer
Steve Maud
Merck Mectizan Donation Program Film
Client Brief
Merck asked us to create a film celebrating 5 billion Mectizan treatments donated for river blindness and elephantiasis. They wanted a piece to share with staff and show at their main factory in Haarlem. Therefore, the goal was to highlight the program’s scale, impact, and Merck’s long-term commitment.
Our Approach
First, we combined staff interviews from last year’s annual event with archival footage from years of filming the Mectizan Donation Program across multiple countries. This approach allowed us to show both the human and operational impact of the program.
Next, our MD, Steve Maud, composed a soundtrack called The Promise, inspired by Merck’s motto: “As much as needed, for as long as needed.” The music guided the narrative and emphasized the dedication behind the program. Additionally, by blending heartfelt interviews, historical footage, and cinematic visuals, we illustrated the difference 35 years of commitment has made to communities around the world.
Impact and Results
As a result, the film premiered at Merck’s annual event and received enthusiastic applause. It reinforced the Mectizan Donation Program as a cornerstone of Merck’s work and strengthened staff pride. Furthermore, the film helped secure additional funding for the program and increased awareness of the company’s global impact.
Overall, by telling the story of Merck’s long-term commitment, the film demonstrates how strategic content can educate, inspire, and celebrate at the same time. The Merck Mectizan Donation Program film commemorated a historic milestone and created a shared sense of purpose among staff. In this way, it made the scale and importance of the initiative tangible and meaningful for everyone who watched it.
Related Videos
Celebrating The Billionth Treatment for River Blindness
Sightsavers delivers the one billionth treatment for River Blindness, a parasite-borne condition that leads to severe disability and the destruction of entire communities
Celebrating The Billionth Treatment for River Blindness
Client
Sightsavers
Distribution
Conference Launch + Social Media
SHOOTING PRODUCER DIRECTOR
Steve Maud
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Duncan Walsh
CAMERA OPERATOR
Jida Makide
EDITOR
Evie Franks
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Helen Button
PHOTOGRAPHER (GUARDIAN)
Graeme Robertson
CLIENT CONTACT
Rebecca Mintrim
Sightsavers delivers the one billionth treatment for River Blindness, a parasite-borne condition that leads to severe disability and the destruction of entire communities. Because of mass treatment programmes like those run by Sightsavers, young children like Dorcas can live a very different life to her grandfather, who was made blind by river blindness.
Our team was was there to witness this incredible moment, reminding us how incredibly important this work is.
Task Force for Global Health: 40th Anniversary Film
Our film celebrates 40 years of the Task Force For Global Health in a short documentary packed with history, highlights and achievements.
Task Force for Global Health: 40th Anniversary Film
Client
Task Force For Global Health
Distribution
Company Website + Linkedin + Social Media + YouTube
Types
Documentary + Impact & Testimonial
Location
Africa, USA
Creative Director:
Steve Maud
Editing Producer/Director:
Joana Soares
Executive Producer:
Katia Hérault
Editor:
Bruno Miles
Distilling the celebrated 40-year history of the Task Force For Global Health – a groundbreaking global organisation – into a short form documentary is no small feat. Doing so involves an assessment of a large archival body of films and the development of a narrative arc that shines a light on the subject’s history, highlights, and achievements.
In 1984 Dr. Bill Foege, Mr. Bill Watson and Ms. Carol Walters (all former colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control) gathered around Watson’s kitchen table to formulate a plan that would change the lives of millions of children by eliminating diseases such as polio, measles and diphtheria. The result was The Task Force For Child Survival, which grew to become the Task Force For Global Health. As the organisation has grown to address the health needs of populations around the world, it has achieved incredible success through the rollout of programmes that have become the gold standard for disease intervention worldwide.
Through a carefully curated selection of historical footage and interviews with the Task Force’s founders, our film distills this impressive 40-year legacy into 7 minutes. The result is a film that details how the organisation has grown to become a leader in global health that has solved some of the toughest health challenges we face, on a scale never accomplished before.
This film was the key presentation at the Task Force For Global Health’s 40th anniversary event, held at their headquarters in Decatur, Georgia, USA.
To see more on our approach to short form documentary films, read this article on how we develop a narrative arc that enables us to incorporate a great deal of detail and history into a short film.
Mectizan Donation Program: Nasarawa State, Beyond Elimination
The successful elimination of river blindness is in safe hands in Nasawara State, Nigeria.
Mectizan Donation Program: Nasarawa State, Beyond Elimination
Client
Mectizan Donation Programme, Sightsavers, Task Force For Global Health
Distribution
Company Website + Linkedin + Social Media
Types
Documentary + Impact & Testimonial
Location
Africa
Director/Camera Operator
Stephen Maud
Producer/Editor
Bruna Amaral
Music
Stephen Maud
Fixer
Ajeck Mangut
Camera Assistant
Chinedu Igweneme
Photographer
William Nsai
This film looks at the success in overcoming a crippling disease that has besieged Nigeria, and large parts of Africa for decades. Onchocerciasis, commonly known as river blindness causes unbearable itching and ultimately blindness to the point where river-side communities were abandoned.
Thanks to the dedication of people like Nasarawa State Coordinator for Neglected Tropical Diseases, Jacob Righain, the support of NGO partners The Carter Center and donation of the treating drug Mectizan by Merck & Co., local communities have been empowered to break the transmission of river blindness and create a platform for future disease interventions.
Filmed just before the COVID-19 lockdown kicked in, we worked with a talented Nigerian crew to get right to the heart of the story. We edited back in the UK and created a bespoke soundtrack to help transport the viewer deeper into the world of neglected tropical diseases.
It forms part of a wider suite of films used in different ways that have told the Mectizan Donation Program story over the years, collaborating with multiple global partners from the Nigerian Ministry of Health and local government, to Sightsavers, the Carter Center and other key players in the game to get full engagement from the offset.
Eradication: The Endgame
Part of a series of films aimed at increasing awareness and accelerating progress towards disease elimination
Eradication: The Endgame
Client
Glide
Distribution
Company Website + Conference Launch + Social Media + YouTube
Types
Documentary + Impact & Testimonial
Location
Africa, Asia
Executive Producer (C9M)
Duncan Walsh
Producer Director
Nat Low
Editor
Carman Amaya
Crew
Fixation TV
Commissioner
Priya Kanayson, Lisa Von Nastrand (GLIDE)
Fixer
Bernard Likoda
With thanks to
Emily Staub (The Carter Center)
Production Co-ordinator
Sara Viglione (Gong Communications)
Humanity has eradicated one dangerous disease: smallpox. Under the right circumstances, we are on the path to achieve elimination or eradication of four others.
We were commissioned to create a series of films aimed at increasing awareness and accelerating progress towards disease elimination, particularly around neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as polio, lymphatic filariasis, river blindness & malaria.
By focusing on the key lessons from the successful smallpox and ongoing polio eradication campaigns, and hearing from the people at a global and national level, our films in GLIDE’s ‘Eliminating Diseases’ video series sought to raise the profile of NTDs amongst stakeholders, funders and governmental organisations.
We’re proud to share that our film generated over 1,000 views on GLIDE’s YouTube channel, and over 150,000 combined video plays on their social media channels. In addition, page visits to the organisation’s website rose by 161%, along with a 187% increase in new users, with the most notable increase seen in visitors from target country, Cameroon, which saw a 100% rise.
As a crowning achievement, we along with Gong Communications were nominated as finalists in the 2023 Sabre Awards in the Central African category for work in raising awareness through GLIDE’s Webisodes Campaign.