Film puts focus on skin cancer

Cecilia makes a star appearance in the short film, which was created by Michael Hart and Gareth Pitman, both 19, who are creative media production students at Northern Regional College in Newtownabbey.

The promotional video was showcased at a recent skin cancer conference, ‘Preventing Skin Cancer - What is Your Role?’, which was hosted in Belfast by the Public Health Agency (PHA) in partnership with Cancer Focus Northern Ireland.

Gerry McElwee, Head of Cancer Prevention at Cancer Focus, said: “We are delighted that Michael and Gareth chose the care in the sun message as the theme for their end of year coursework. The video is creative and entertaining, yet it contains an important message for the public. I’m sure it will help viewers think about their health in a new way.”

Cecilia, who features in the film, commented: “I really enjoyed working with the lads on this project - they are very creative with a lot of talent. I was delighted to help Cancer Focus and the PHA get their cancer prevention message out to everyone in the community. As this film was made by young people I think it will appeal particularly to that age group.”

Michael said: “This video formed an important part of our coursework and it was also a fantastic chance to work with a professional like Cecilia - we picked up lots of insider tips from her which I’m sure will come in very useful in our future careers in film production.”

Gareth added: “Working with Cecilia was a brilliant experience. She makes it all look so easy. The film was an amazing learning curve for us, both from a technical and from a health point of view.”

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Northern Ireland, with more than 3,000 people diagnosed with the disease every year.

Anyone concerned about skin cancer should call the helpline - 0800 783 3339 - or log on to www.careinthesun.org