SHIFT films trailer
Hannah is a specialist nurse, whose eighty-two-year-old patient Marion wants a sexual health screening as she has a new boyfriend. Then there’s refugee Marco, he suspects he might have caught a sexually transmitted infection, but doesn’t know who to turn to for help? And Marleen and Chris’s marriage sails ever closer to the rocks, as she continues to battle with the menopause symptoms from hell, and he gets tempted by a clandestine ‘hook up’ with ‘sugar-lips’!
These are just some of the characters from the SHIFT films, a package of six short, dramatised films produced as part of the SHIFT free learning and training tool kit.
Why use storytelling?
Storytelling is intuitive. No matter our individual language, background, or culture, we all recognise and understand a good story. Stories have the power to connect, to bring people together, to share ideas, and to influence and inspire. They can deliver multiple and complex messages and are easy to remember.
Each film has been crafted to identify and address key issues around sexual health for people over the age of forty-five, and reflect the experiences of a wide and diverse range of characters from across the host nations. The films are constructed in a way that the story addresses more than one issue, and simultaneously speaks to the need of both service users and professionals alike. Characters cross over into different stories, but each story has its own central character and a unique and individual story to tell.
Watch our webinar on Using stories to promote sexual health to the over 45s.
Our films
These films can be used freely by anyone wishing to promote improved sexual health in people over the age of 45, either as a tool to spark discussion or debate, or as an enhancement to the in-person training modules embrace difference, reduce risk, and assess and communicate.
Myra and Lucas’ story
Lucas calls into question his new relationship with Myra when he discovers she’s living with HIV. But when he learns that her status doesn’t need to come in the way of their relationship, he is forced to address his own lack of knowledge and preconceptions.
Marleen’s story
After suffering severe menopause symptoms in silence, Marleen finally reaches breaking point at work, but finds support and advice from an unlikely source.
Marco’s story
With no one to turn to and fearing he may lose his application for asylum; recent migrant seeker Marco decides to keep his STI symptoms secret. That is until he is found looking at inappropriate material in an IT class.
Chris and Marleen’s story
The growing lack of intimacy in his relationship finds Chris exploring connections outside his marriage, only to find that the problem is more complex than he thought, and with an answer much closer to home.
Hannah and Marion’s story
Health worker Hannah is forced to recognise her own preconceptions around age and sexuality after meeting with Marion, a flamboyant octogenarian who defies all convention!
Karen’s story
A newly single woman becomes a serial Tinder dater, but when one of her matches won’t hook up without a condom, she is forced to discover some home truths about her own sexual health.
Production
A total of eight stories were developed and written by Tom Line and Stewart Marquis, SHIFT project partners from METRO Charity and East Sussex Public Health. SHIFT partners then reviewed the scripts and selected the final six.
London based film company, Nutmeg Productions were commissioned to produce the films, which were directed by London based film director, Nuri Moseinco and shot on location in the Netherlands and the UK using locally based actors and crew. Each film was shot in the language of the host nation, with subtitles used for other languages where necessary.
Webinars
Useful webinars to watch: