On Saturday, six LauraLynn families stepped onto the Red Carpet at the Odeon Charlestown for one of the greatest events in the LauraLynn calendar, The LauraLynn Oscars.
Now in its fifth year, the event was bigger and better than ever and rounded off Palliative Care Week on a high.
Six LauraLynn families from across the country took part in the Children’s Hospice’s unique event and all six scooped an award for their movie making and acting talents.
Aidan Kenny from Galway, Cian Murphy and Matthew Lane from Limerick, Sean Barnes from Wicklow and Emily McCormack and Coral Collier from Dublin all played the leading role in their family’s films with show-stopping performances.
All six children avail of LauraLynn’s care and supports.
Coral Collier from Dublin is pictured with big sister Tanya and father Rem on the red carpet at the LauraLynn Oscars in Charlestown Odeon. Picture Andres Poveda
The Oscars is a ‘digital storytelling’ children’s hospice initiative that provides children with life-limiting conditions and their families a platform to create their own unique story.
It culminates in a glamorous red-carpet event, offering a once-in-lifetime, genuine, cinematic experience for the entire family.
The idea for the Oscars Project started as a film workshop for siblings, which LauraLynn Play Therapist Michelle Hartnett, organised after researching the topic of sibling loss.
Michelle envisaged the children being trained to lead their own families in making a home movie.
But it quickly evolved into a much bigger, family-focused film project and is a collaboration with the Volunteer Co-Ordinator, Lorna Collins.
At the outset, the whole family, including the child who attends LauraLynn services, sit down with a professional scriptwriter to discuss their ideas for a film.
They then enter a journey of script rehearsals, filming and finally their moment on the red carpet.
The project aims to capture a family’s creativity and imagination in a uniquely fun manner.
Becoming a legacy for the family and those who attend for the many years to come.
While each family creates an individual movie that reflects their own passions and personalities, the common bond is that the starring role is played by the child who attends LauraLynn.
Emily McCormack (8) from Dublin is pictured with her family Nikki, Rob and Mia (13) at the LauraLynn Oscars in Charlestown Odeon Dublin. Picture Andres Poveda
Coral Collier from Dublin is pictured with big sister Tanya and father Rem on the red carpet at the LauraLynn Oscars in Charlestown Odeon. Picture Andres Poveda
Michelle Hartnett, Senior Play Therapist at LauraLynn said;
”The LauraLynn Oscars looks at fostering engagement in the Creative Arts.
“It is a service that delivers a direct response to children and family’s needs, by creating purposeful engagement in the Arts underpinned by theoretical frameworks.
“Ensuring that LauraLynn are not only capturing the voice of the child, or the adult but also the narrative of the family unit.”