Every Moment Counts

Sarah (13) has a degenerative neurological condition and receives palliative care at her local children’s hospice. Her declining physical condition causes her to pull out of a much-loved outing to the beach. But, after a chance encounter with a music therapist, Sarah discovers that she can approach life in a new way.

Every Moment Counts places people, rather than medical conditions, at its heart. Thanks to workshops facilitated by Heard and direct access granted by St Oswald's Hospice, the filmmakers gained many insights on children's palliative care (CPC). Sarah's character was shaped by the stories of caregivers, professionals, parents, and young individuals. A young artist, her drawings capture the intricacies of her daily life and portray the relationships that she nurtures with hospice staff, her family, and fellow children. By showing the world of CPC through a child’s eye, Every Moment Counts focuses on the often-overlooked dimensions of this care. Every Moment Counts is an animation that places people, rather than medical conditions, at its heart. This is one of three films funded as part of 'NHS Untold Film Stories'. Funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council, in partnership with the BFI, these new films tell the untold stories of the NHS, taking audiences on a journey across the UK and as far afield as India, to mark 75 years since the NHS was established in 1948. In 2023, the selected emerging filmmakers were awarded up to £20,000 each to make these new short films inspired by the BFI National Archive’s NHS on Film collection. The films either respond directly to the archive NHS on Film collection or creatively reuse extracts from a curated selection of films preserved by BFI to reflect on the gaps in the story of the NHS as told through film. The three films funded as part of this scheme are: 1. Khichdi, dir. Sara David 2. Every Moment Counts, dir. Dermot O’Dempsey 3. Dr XYZ, dir. El Jones and Raviv Piccus