Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft organization, has announced the inclusion of its short film, Aldrian, in the LA Under the Stars Film Festival 2019.
The film follows the story of Aldrian, a 6-year-old boy living with an untreated cleft lip and palate in Metro Manila. His greatest wish was simply to eat with ease.
Aldrian’s grandmother Lola Theresa is raising him and other family members by working as a street vendor. Lola Theresa was barely making enough money to feed her family, let alone to pay for Aldrian’s cleft surgery.
However, this soon changed when a local Smile Train social worker heard about his story and reached out to help. With love and support from his family and a helping hand from the organization, Aldrian dream came true.
The story of Aldrian, Smile Train said, is only one of many. Globally, more than 200,000 babies are born with clefts every year. Children with clefts don’t only have difficulty eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking but may also lack the confidence needed to go to school every day and eventually look for a job.
Smile Train believes that a smile is just the beginning of the transformation. It is instrumental in a child’s journey to a full, healthy, and productive life.
The LA Under the Stars Film Festival is an international film festival held at the historic El Cid Theatre, Los Angeles, California. It is considered the best showcase for independent films. The festival has acknowledged the short film as it focuses on real-life situations that underserved Filipino families face when members are born with birth differences.
Representing the 50,000th surgery supported by Smile Train in the Philippines, Aldrian showcases the opportunities that can be provided such as free cleft surgeries and comprehensive cleft care.
“Smile Train saw the LA Under the Stars Film Festival as a great opportunity to share our Aldrian film to help raise awareness for children with birth differences, including those with clefts, as we continue to advocate spreading love and kindness through unconditional acceptance for others,” said Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Smile Train’s area director for Southeast Asia.
Go to smiletrain.org/lp/aldrian to watch the film.