Abstract
In a mix of live-action and animation, Go Make Memories is the story of Caleb’s and his family’s experience after being diagnosed with the ultra-rare neurodegenerative Niemann-Pick disease (NPD). This short film hopes to raise awareness and inform about the support offered by NPUK, a charity organization dedicated to families dealing with NPD.
Details
A live-action house hosts the setting of this short film, whose characters are animated. A family opens the door of their new home, full of packing boxes. The mother is carrying a baby boy, Caleb, in her arms, and a girl of about six years old, Zoey, runs around excitedly.
The following scenes move around the different rooms in the house and show some happy family moments: Zoey’s first day at school, the toddler’s first steps, them playing together, and Christmas morning.
One day, all of a sudden, Caleb falls on the floor while playing in the living room. Then, he starts crying, and despite the efforts of his parents, he does not stop, so they take him to the hospital.
After many doctor appointments, they receive the bad news that their child suffers from a very rare neurodegenerative condition called Niemann-Pick disease, whose cure has not been found yet. The disease implies that their son’s mental and physical health would continuously decline over time, and he probably would not live more than ten years.
The parents go through very rough moments accepting and understanding Caleb’s condition and its symptoms. Even though the mother is increasingly worried and experiences many emotionally difficult moments, for example, on Caleb’s birthday, she also wants to receive as much help as she can get. She suggests getting in touch with the charity organization NPUK, but her husband is in denial and refuses to ask for additional help. They are discussing this when, all of a sudden, Caleb falls again while playing in the garden, and from that moment on, his health starts to deteriorate so much that he cannot walk anymore.
It is only after Caleb’s eighth birthday that the father accedes to get in touch with the NPUK and realizes that they can help them. Alicia, a social assistant from the NPUK, walks into the house and asks Caleb how he is doing. That is when the animated character in a wheelchair turns into a live-action boy. The short film closes with some captions that hope to raise awareness about the NPD and the work of NPUK and some photos to honour the memory of some children who passed away.
