NEWS
Take Heart Together We Are Stronger
It is with great delight that we announce the Cardiac Society for Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) has officially joined the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the World Heart federation as major sponsors of Take Heart.
Production has continued in both the Northern Territory in Melbourne following the stories of our dynamic central characters Liddywoo, Brooklyn, Trenton, Carlissa and Dr Bo Remenyi. More filming is schedule in the New Year and post-production is underway on the collection of short films.
Take Heart: The Quest to Rid the World of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) is a moving picture advocacy project designed to put RHD on the global media and public health agendas, starting with Australia.
The root cause of acute rheumatic fever and consequently life-threatening RHD is repeated failure to treat ‘strep throats’. Major surgery, disability, stroke, heart failure or death result.
RHD is preventable, but it currently affects over 15 million people worldwide.
Take Heart follows the stories of 4 young indigenous Australians living with RHD, their families and health workers including Dr Bo Remenyi of Royal Darwin Hospital. We come to know these children and young adults on a personal level and understand how living with RHD has impacted on their lives socially, medically and culturally.
It also features the voices of world leaders in the field including Professor Jonathan Carapetis (Australia), Dr Lyn Roberts (Australia), Dr Bongani Mayosi (South Africa), Professor Kathryn Taubert (Switzerland), Professor Sidney Smith (USA), Dr Yves Dukekem (Belgium) and Dr Christian Brizard (France).
Throughout 2014, we intend to produce and release:
- A one-hour feature film for TV, Video-On-Demand, public screenings, film festivals, conferences and educational settings.
- A foundation series of six short films providing dramatizing key public health information for at-risk families, community health workers, health professionals of all forms, students and policy-makers.
- A photographic exhibition.
- A free iOS (Apple) App for self-management and ARF/RHD education.
- A free iOS (Apple) Game App engaging at-risk children through play-based learning to engender preventive habits.
The project is currently seeking a Presenting Sponsor enabling the completion of Phase One of the project, which focuses on RHD in Australia.
Beyond 2014 (Phase 1), the project will expand its focus and explore the story of RHD in Africa, Asia and South America.
