Earlier this year, we shared Iman’s Story. This short film is about the lifelong support we offer to women whose obstetric fistula can’t be cured with a standard surgery.
We’re delighted that the film recently won ‘Best Campaign Film’ at The Saltways’ Charity Film Festival. The judges’ feedback said the film was “really well structured, person-centred storytelling with a clear call to action”. One judge commented “this made me well up”.
Helen Marriott, CEO of Hamlin Fistula UK, said “It’s a real honour to have Iman’s Story recognised by the Charity Film Festival. As a small charity working overseas, film is a really important medium to help us build a connection between our supporters and the women we serve. I’m very proud that we’ve been able to share Iman and Sister Tigist’s story of resilience and care with a wider audience.”
The other finalists in the ‘Best Campaign Films’ category were The Brain Tumour Charity, Kids Inspire and Sustainable Merton. Their films were all powerful and moving. You can watch all the winning and runner-up films here.
About the Film
Iman is a young Ethiopian woman who experienced a devastating childbirth injury when her first child was stillborn. The obstetric fistula left her incontinent of urine and socially isolated.
When she arrived at Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital, the doctors found that her condition was too severe to be fixed with a standard surgery.
Specialist nurse Tigist helped Iman decide to accept life-changing urinary diversion surgery. Iman will live the rest of her life with a stoma, an opening in the abdominal wall which diverts urine outside the body to be collected in a small waterproof pouch. This must be worn continuously and changed every few days to avoid infection.
Iman reflects on how hard life will be with the stoma bag, but says that continuing to live life with a fistula was not an option.
Since we made the film, Iman has returned home and reunited with her husband. She attended a rehabilitation course at Desta Mender and trained in vegetable farming. You can read her update here.
Why did we make this film?
We wanted to raise awareness of the lifelong support we provide for women who require urinary diversion surgery. This leaves them dependent on medical care and provision of stoma bags and supplies. Iman made this difficult decision with counselling and support from Tigist, a specialist stoma nurse. We show how important the relationship between Tigist and Iman is before and after the urinary diversion surgery.
The film was a key part of our fundraising campaign for International Day to End Obstetric Fistula in May 2025. It helped to raise over £40,000 to support our work helping women like Iman.
Winning the Best Campaign Film category is a fantastic testament to the power and emotional resonance of Iman’s story. We’re so grateful to everyone involved in making the film (see below) and The Saltways team and judges for selecting it.
Who made the film?
The interview and b-roll footage were shot by Maheder Haileselassie, a photographer and videographer from Addis Ababa, in collaboration with Tseganesh Mulugeta, Communications Officer at Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. The footage was translated by Hamlin Fistula UK’s Misirach Yacob and professional Amharic translator Betty Natan. We then worked with a Fat Rat Films, a Europe-based agency to produce the film.
