Organ Recipients Given A Second Chance At Life In New Documentary From Dentsu & Network 10

To celebrate DonateLife Thank You Day, Dentsu Creative has announced the launch of its new documentary Second Chance Champions, which tells the story of athletes competing in the World Transplant Games held in Perth earlier this year.

Second Chance Champions will premiere on 10 and 10 Play on November 17 and is the first documentary produced by Dentsu Creative ANZ’s entertainment division, which launched in February and is led by Creative Director Liam Bagnall.

Filmed, edited and produced by Dentsu Creative, the documentary aligns with Dentsu Creative’s ambition to create culture rather than borrow it and create work that is good for society. It is 100 per cent created and owned by Dentsu Creative.

Second Chance Champions tells the story of Rezwan Mohammed, a Rohingan refugee, and Linda and Laurie Hindom, husband and wife living donor and donor recipient and their participation in the World Transplant Games in Perth earlier this year.

The documentary seeks to honour the legacy of donors and donor recipients, collaborating with The World Transplant Games to create a medal that can be split in two, allowing the winner to share their medal with their organ donor or their family.

“It tells the positive side of organ donation. We talk a lot about joining the registry or people who are dying, people who are in need, people who are in hospital, people who are on dialysis, but we don’t see the rest of their life after they get the transplant” said Sarah McGregor, executive creative director at Dentsu Creative. “That’s the joyful bit. That’s the inspiring bit. We also think that’s motivating to focus on the positive, to show what a donation can do for people’s lives”.

The World Transplant Games had athletes and teams from 45 countries participate in 17 different sports in Perth, Western Australia, with all competitors giving or receiving organ donations.  It is designed to encourage organ donation and raise awareness of the need for people to register organ donation intent and to have conversations with their next of kin.

“The conversation with the family is an important part of this work. It’s not enough to get more people signing up to the registry; the talk of the family is essential because when you die and the time comes to donate your organs, your family have the final say they have to give final consent. And we find that the consent rate is only 54 per cent. So, almost half the time, the family overturns the wishes of the deceased because they haven’t had that conversation. When people have the conversation and are in the registry, it’s closer to 90 per cent. So it’s so important that people’s families understand their wishes,” said McGregor.

In addition to the content in the documentary, Dentsu and Channel 10 will be putting out additional extended content and mini-movies. “This isn’t just something you’ll see, and then it fizzles out. It’s a year and a half long worth of content in our minds,” said Liam Bagnall, creative director at Dentsu Creative and documentary producer.

One story that didn’t make it into the documentary but that will make up additional content was the story of a man named Terry Donovan, who, at the age of 50, started having heart problems and was told that without a transplant, he wouldn’t survive longer than a month or two. At the same time, a boy called Nathan was sadly in a car accident, and his parents, Diane and Tom, decided to honour his wishes to become an organ donor. Terry received the heart.

On the first anniversary of Nathan’s death, Diane sent Terry a single rose through an anonymous service, and the following year, Terry sent Diane back some seeds for a rosebush. A few years later, they met and became best friends. “They now travel the world together. I was lucky to meet Terry’s wife, Diane and Tom, which was an incredible experience. Diane can’t help but listen to Terry’s chest. The rose bush is now 30 years old. Terry’s grandchild is named Nathan,” said Bagnall.

Dentsu Creative’s entertainment offering seeks to create projects that encompass everything from original content and formats and behind-the-scenes extras to live events and music soundtracks.

“It’s been the most wonderful collaborative project; it’s fed all our souls and has become so close to our hearts if it wasn’t already. It’s just been such a great example of the way we love to work, everyone coming together to do something wonderful for the world. So it’s been an absolute privilege to do it,” said McGregor.

Globally, Dentsu Creative’s entertainment division has launched industry-leading original Gaming, TV and Podcast properties and produced and funded original entertainment content for platforms including Netflix, Amazon and Discovery, including producing the Emmy-nominated HBO Max Series The Cost of Winning with P&G Studios.

Second Chance Champions will be available to watch on 10 and 10 Play on November 17 at 1 pm, with an encore showing on 10 on November 19 at 9 am.

CREDITS

Transplant Australia
• Chris Thomas – CEO
• Jo O’Farrell – Manager, Stakeholder Relations
Dentsu Creative
• Kirsty Muddle – CEO
• Mandie van der Merwe & Avish Gordon– Chief Creative Officers
• Sarah McGregor – Executive Creative Director
• Liam Bagnall – Creative Director, Entertainment
• Trent Hendrick – Creative Director
• Monique Horsley – Copywriter
• Kean Szczur – Art Director
• Roz Scrimshaw – Lead Producer

• Craig Sloane – Producer
• Sandy Madden – Producer
• Mike Papa – Designer
• Graham Alvarez – Strategy Partner
• Paul Isbell – Strategy Partner, Social & Content
• Will Giles – Strategy Director, Channel
• Guy Lovell – Managing Partner
• Tiffany Simon – Senior Account Director, PR
• Director – Liam Bagnall
• Editor – Clare Conway
• DOP – Tim Fitzgerald
• Sound Recordist – Jason North
• Colorist – Tim Egan
• Photographer – Daniel Mazzarella
• Composer – Smith & Western
• Sound mix – Final Sound