During the COVID pandemic, schools across the globe were closed down immediately, exposing more than 897 million children to lifethreatening issues like domestic violence, child labour and crime. The EU and UNICEF launched a joint appeal to policy makers everywhere urging them to keep schools for young children open as long as possible.
“Closing down schools seemed like a logical decision to contain the virus but thousands of children lost their safe haven because of it. Intricate issues call for nuanced decision making.”
Natalia Alonso
Deputy Director UNICEF Global
To convey the possible consequences of their decision in an emotional way, we created a frighteningly realistic film based on real-life testimonials from children in different parts of the world.
To denounce the fact that governments often turn to quick fixes, even for complex issues like this one, we told the story of these children in the form of a ‘5 step video tutorial’ common to frivolous news sites and blogs. The film was spread across all continents with the help of a global PR plan. Within a week, the video reached more than 15 million views.
‘Finish Your Homework’ won the Grand Prix in film at the 2020 WINA Awards.
Check it out in the WINA ranking here.
“This type of project is rather exceptional. We wanted to work precisely on the perspective of the children who are always at the centre of the scene. We wanted to put ourselves on their level in order to get as close as possible to their visions, while putting the spectator in their situation as much as possible.”
Camille Dauteuille
Director AB/CD/CD
