We are delighted to share that our short film: Walking In Our Shoes has won ‘Best Film Documentary’ at the Cinephone-international smartphone short film festival.

It was screened to an internal cinema audience and has won ‘Best Film Documentary’ at the Cinephone-international smartphone short film festival 2019.

‘Walking in Our Shoes’ is a documentary film spanning conversations with fathers, each has a child with a heart condition. This documentary has been created by Cassius Rayner, an award-winning film maker who is also a heart dad.

This is a poignant film, noting that many fathers feel the need to cope alone and be strong for the rest of their family, through what for most is the hardest experience of their life. But it’s never as simple as just coping, and by opening up about how hard it can be to support your family at a time of crisis like this, they also offer advice and reassurance to fathers who may be experiencing a similar situation.

We invite all fathers and male carers to watch this documentary and hope that it offers support at a time when it is needed.

Thank you to everyone who helped in the planning of this film and a big thank you to those dads who took part and shared their stories.

This film originated because ECHO recognised that we needed to do more to support the fathers in our community, that we are here to support the whole of the parental family.

"To receive the award from an established film festival was an honour and filled me with pride of the fathers that took part and shared their inner most feelings, their heart, their story to help others. They are the heroes, and I hope that all those that took part in the documentary and the staff of Echo that believed in the project and allowing me the freedom to shoot and edit the story as I felt it should be seen are as proud as I am.

Cassius Rayner - Film maker and heart dad