By Greg Barradale
Olivia Colman has bagged another award. This time, though, it’s not for playing a promiscuous monarch or a dogged detective. Her voice can be heard while watching Change the Ending, a heart-rending animation for Alzheimer’s Research UK that’s just taken the top gong at the 2024 Smiley Charity Film Awards.
Telling the story of a prince and princess who have happily-ever-after disrupted by dementia, the film from Alzheimer’s Research UK scooped up the Grand Prix Charity Film of the Year at the seventh edition of the awards on 20 March.
The stars of the show at London’s Leicester Square – normally a venue more used to film premieres – were not seasoned actors and producers, but charities who’ve used film to win hearts and minds. Among the 18 winners – from more than 500 entries – were films highlighting animal rights, mental health and breast cancer.
Speaking at the event, poet Lemn Sissay told The Big Issue: “Charities are more important now than they were when I was a teenager.
“The generations that are coming up, they are asking the question: what are you doing for the people that have got less? Much, much more than it used to be in my time.
“The stories we tell now about what our needs are in society are really important, but need to be told well.”
Ted Lasso star Ellie Taylor hosted the gala, billed as a one-of-a-kind awards – the biggest award ceremony celebrating cause-based filmmaking.
The event was put together by the Smiley Movement, with Big Issue as a media partner.
Guests including Shirley Ballas, Kimberley Wyatt, Professor Green and Gregg Wallace flocked to the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, where the winners were revealed. Prizes covered charities of all shapes and sizes.
For charities relying on the public putting their hands in their pockets, the awards can serve as a vital boost, TV presenter Kate Humble said.
“I have done lots of wildlife and nature program
