How to apply for the Health for All Film Festival?

Competition categories and prizes

Our HAFF’s fifth official selection of about 90 short films will be presented to the public in April 2024 via the  WHO YouTube channel and  WHO Health for All Film Festival homepage. Winners from this selection will be announced by mid-May 2024.

In submitting a short film, the copyright owner of the film has to choose one category of competition among the three described below, which relates to WHO’s global health goals set out in the Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13). Each winner will receive from WHO a trophy, a certificate, and a payment of their copyright so that WHO could promote their film on its channels and events (see festival rules below).

Candidates can submit short documentaries, fiction films, or animation films of three to eight minutes in length for the categories below, with exception of the Very Short Film category dedicated to shorter clips made for social media platforms.

1. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) – films about mental health, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and other UHC stories linked to communicable diseases not part of emergencies;

2. Health Emergencies – films about health emergencies, such as COVID-19, Monkeypox, Ebola, disaster relief, and health in conflict settings;

3. Better Health and Well-being – films about environmental and social determinants of health as well as other non-medical conditions for good health, such as nutrition, sanitation, pollution, gender, physical activity, and/or health promotion or health education.

Additionally, four special prizes are attributed to some short-listed videos not receiving a GRAND PRIX. In 2024, the special prizes include:

Special Film Prize on Physical Activity and Health – Individual stories and those at the community, health facilities and/or national levels are welcome in the perspective of demonstrating the health benefits of physical activity.

For instance, they could relate to:

• Prevention and management of non-communicable diseases, including mental health.
• Experiences of older adults who remain physically active and the impact on their vitality, independence, and quality of life.
• Stories of resilience, breaking stereotypes, and achieving personal growth through being physical active or participation in sports, such as sports practice empowering specific genders or other groups of people being stigmatized.
• Physiotherapy and medical rehabilitation: how physical activity plays a crucial role in medical rehabilitation and how exercise can be part of a recovery from injury, illness, or chronic conditions.
• Inclusivity and accessibility: making physical activity accessible to all, regardless of ability, age, or socioeconomic background, such inclusive fitness spaces. Such stories could highlight adaptive sports and initiatives for people with disabilities, as well as the benefits of some digital solutions through technology to encourage people in their practice.
• Environmental impact of physical activity, such as eco-friendly sports events, and how active transportation options like cycling and walking contribute to better environmental health for all.

> More information about WHO’s work on Physical Activity and Health

Special Migrants and Refugees Health Film Prize – Films that shed light on the impact of migration and displacement on the physical and mental health and well-being of migrants and refugees. Films raising awareness on the rights and unique health needs of these populations, and showcase how access to health care for these populations contributes to their better health and well-being.

For instance, the short films submitted could explore the following topics and more:

• Situations where the health of migrants and refugees has improved in the transit and host countries compared to their country of origin.
• Situations where their health status has deteriorated because of the conditions in which they travel and settle in the new destination, including factors such as poor housing, overcrowding, lower levels of education, difficulties in accessing health care, clean water, and good sanitation, poor air quality, food insecurity, vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence, gender and cultural stereotyping, and the adverse effects of immigration detention.
• Challenges in access to health care, including for migrants in irregular situations, due to exclusion from national programmes for health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and care, high fees, language, and cultural barriers, distance to facility, discrimination by the provider, and lack of documentation.
• Impact of restricted and discontinuous access to health care in transit and host countries.
• The role of the health workers in health care access for refugees and migrants, and specific Initiatives to deliver health care to them.
• The role of interpreters and cultural mediators in facilitating mutual understanding between migrants, refugees, and health workers.
• Causes of migration and displacement, including seeking a better life and job opportunities. Stressful, violent, and/or often traumatic causes such as conflicts, extreme meteorological / climate events or other industrial/environmental disasters, poverty, and risk of starvation, persecution, etc.

> More information about WHO’s work and recommendations on Migrants and Refugees Health


Student Film Prize – Films produced by students who can justify that their submitted production was made during their university studies.

Very Short Film Prize – Films between one to below three minutes (1'00" to 2'59”) about any health-related topic previously described in the above competition categories.

Eligibility criteria and festival rules

• Only short films about health completed between 1 January 2021 and 31 January 2024 are eligible for the Film Festival 5th edition.
• All types of artistic approaches are welcome: animation, fiction, documentary, and video art.
• The length of each film submitted has to respect the format described in the rules.
• A submission can be in any language; if the film is not in English, English subtitles must be included in the frame.
• The period for submissions is from 1 November 2023 through 31 January 2024.
• Any production made by United Nations staff members or exclusively done with UN funding is not eligible.
• Commercial/corporate films advertising for a product, device, or private business service, won’t be selected.

Any candidate whose film may be selected will be required to return these rules to WHO with their signature for their endorsement. This will be a condition for confirming the selection of their film.

Help us spread the word

Journalists may contact us via filmfestival@who.int for media inquiries.

Anyone can help us promote this call for short films, as well as future events and activities linked to the Health for All Film Festival. Please use #Film4Health in your social media posts,  or simply like and share posts containing this hashtag or any other reference to our festival.

To publish your own posts, you can use illustrations from our social media kits (on the WHO Health for All Film Festival homepage).

You can also join our advocates’ group on LinkedIn to be informed of the latest updates and share your own actions in favor of health education through film.