Refuge ad puts hard-hitting twist on 'Hide and Seek'
To mark the commencement of a national partnership with Picturehouse the domestic abuse charity, Refuge, has launched a powerful short film called 'Hide and Seek.'
Refuge/ Picturehouse
The film seeks to raise awareness that 90% of domestic abuse that takes place in the family home is witnessed and experienced by children.
Created by BBH London, the film aims to raise funds and awareness of domestic abuse which unfortunately affects so many women and children. Shockingly, domestic abuse affects one in four women in her life, and 800,000 children.
To highlight the sheer scale of domestic abuse in the UK, and the children affected, the new campaign twists around the children's game of 'Hide and Seek.'
Directed by Lucy Bridger, it flicks through various scenes of children with their eyes covered, counting. The viewer quickly comes to realise that the children aren't counting as part of an innocent game of 'Hide and Seek' but in fact trying to shroud out the sound of abuse in the background.
The final scene sees a mother playing the game with her child, having been rescued from domestic abuse by the charity.
The work is the next in a series of powerful campaigns launched by the charity. Back in December, Refuge developed a number of full-page ads inspired by reversible poetry, to draw attention to the life or death issue.
The ads - which at first appear to be jovial Christmas poetry - in fact, document horrific scenes of domestic abuse.
Discussing the powerful new campaign, Refuge's chief executive, Sandra Horley said: “Never before in Refuge’s history has such a major campaign been launched. The unprecedented exposure that Hide and Seek will receive by being aired before all ‘15’ certificate films that run day in, day out, across all the screens housed in the 25 Picturehouse cinema locations is phenomenal.
"With one in four women experiencing the issue and two women a week being killed by a current or former partner, I have no doubt that the impact of this campaign will save and change many lives.”
Adding to this, Clare Binns joint managing director of Picturehouse Cinemas said: “I’m delighted to have Refuge as our new charity partner. At Picturehouse, we believe cinema can really change lives and broaden perspectives.
"Seeing the work Refuge does and the transformative effect the services have on people’s lives makes this a charity we’re proud to be working with. Using our growing family of cinemas we can raise huge awareness and much-needed funds for the important work Refuge does. We can't wait to get started.”
