Students film Prostate Cymru celebrity ambassadors for Big Walk campaign

Film students from the University of South Wales (USW) are working with Prostate Cymru and their celebrity ambassadors – including rugby legend Sir Gareth Edwards and TV presenter Carol Vorderman – to support The Big Walk campaign.

The second-year BA Film students have been making short films with some of the charity’s best-known supporters, raising awareness of prostate cancer and encouraging men to use the services available to them.

The campaign will be shared on the Prostate Cymru website and its social media channels today (Friday 7 May).

The charity offers a specialist nurse helpline and online prostate health checker, and provides businesses throughout Wales with virtual awareness sessions and toolkits.

If men have any concerns after using these services, they are urged to visit their GP for tests.

The students are working with Prostate Cymru as part of their Commissioned Project module, which provides a live brief from a local organisation, tasking them with a video or advertisement project with the aim of preparing them for similar jobs once they graduate.

Celebrity ambassadors for the charity have volunteered their time to be interviewed by the students, explaining why Prostate Cymru is a cause close to their hearts.

The promotional videos will be used for social media adverts and radio campaigns in the lead up to The Big Walk event, which challenges people to walk 26 miles during the month of July.

As well as Carol Vorderman and Sir Gareth Edwards, celebrities featuring in the videos include former rugby player Gareth ‘Alfie’ Thomas, gardening expert Terry Walton, Gavin and Stacey actress Melanie Walters, Stella actress Di Botcher and singer/songwriter Mark Woolfe.

Diana Fodor, originally from Hungary, is one of the group of BA Film students, working as Producer on the project.

She said: “When we heard about Prostate Cymru’s campaign we fell in love with it and straightaway could envisage how best to promote it. We were so excited to be able to help the charity after such a tough year with the Covid-19 pandemic, and of course gain valuable experience ourselves of working with a client on a real-life project.

“It has been challenging juggling so many busy schedules, but I’ve learned so much and it has been amazing working with the celebrities – they have all been so lovely, giving us advice and tips for the future. This is a wonderful cause and we feel very lucky to have been part of their awareness-raising work to help improve men’s health.”

Tirion Hill, 20, is from Mid Wales and worked as Director on the project.

She said: “Prostate Cymru were very keen for us to focus on the accessibility and diversity of The Big Walk event, as well as showcasing their celebrity supporters, so we’ve made two main videos on both of those themes.

“It was an absolute joy to meet and work with so many different people, especially for such an important cause. Being a Director is a stressful, high-pressured job, but I thrive on it and enjoy the productivity and creativity that comes with it.”

Chris Leyshon, Community & Sports Officer at Prostate Cymru, has worked closely with USW on the collaboration.

He added: “This project has been an amazing experience for us as a charity, getting to work with USW and our ambassadors on such wonderful campaign materials. We can’t thank the students enough for their hard work and commitment, as well as the celebrities who made the time for us to film with them in all sorts of locations.

“These videos have the potential to save someone’s life, and if they encourage just one person to go to their GP and get checked out, then we will have made a difference.

“We have really enjoyed seeing the students’ confidence grow during the project and helping them in some small way towards their future careers. We’d love to work with USW on future campaigns to help us grow as a charity.”

To find out more about the Big Walk campaign, visit the Prostate Cymru website.

Study Film at USW