Lights, Camera, Action! Patients and families surprised by out-of-this-world screening of Disney Pixar’s ELIO

Children receiving care from Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’s Eye Department were treated to an exclusive screening of Disney Pixar’s Elio at ODEON Luxe Sheffield.

ODEON Cinemas and Disney provided free tickets, with families also being treated to a special red-carpet experience where they were given the chance to take photos alongside Elio himself. The event was organised to give children undergoing patching treatment the opportunity to see themselves represented on the biggest screen. It also offered families a space to connect with others in similar situations and speak with specialist orthoptists from the Sheffield Children’s Eye Department, who were on hand to answer any questions that families had about treatment.

For parent Adam, it was the first time he had been to the cinema to watch a full feature film with his family. He was thrilled to see his son’s condition represented on the big screen and to share the experience with other families receiving similar care at Sheffield Children’s.

Adam said: “It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I know he’ll have seen other kids wearing [a patch] coming in here. I think it is a brilliant idea to get kids along and see other like-minded kids and to meet people from the department as well.”

The children and young people who attended the screening experience amblyopia, a condition commonly known as “lazy eye”, where the brain cannot communicate effectively with one eye, resulting in blurred vision.

The most common treatment involves placing an eyepatch over the stronger eye to strengthen the weaker one through exposure. This means that, much like the film’s main character Elio, many of the young guests were wearing their patches.

The Eye Department at Sheffield Children’s treats patients from birth to age 16 for a range of vision development conditions, including amblyopia.

Finn Burgum, an orthoptist at Sheffield Children’s, explained:

“Wearing a patch is something that many of our children and young people with amblyopia find quite tricky. Whilst we do offer support for our families, it can often feel quite isolating, as most of the management of patches happens at home.

“Doing events like this is incredible for parents to be able to discuss the hints and tips that have worked for their families and for the children to understand that this isn’t a journey that they’re undertaking alone.”

Finn also highlighted the importance of representation, seeing a lead character wearing a patch on the silver screen: “This event gives children the chance to see someone on the big screen wearing an eyepatch, and they can identify with that character. Hopefully they’ll feel like they’ve got a bit of a role model, somebody who their friends at school will have also seen being advertised and seen at the cinema!”

Ruth Brown, Chief Executive at Sheffield Children’s, said: “When we heard about the chance to make this screening a reality, we knew that it was something that would be beneficial for many of our children and young people with amblyopia. Getting out into the community and supporting children and young people is something that we’re really passionate about at Sheffield Children’s. We’d like to say a massive thank you to all at ODEON Cinemas and Disney for their support in making it happen, and we can’t wait to collaborate on projects in future.”

Mia Alls, Cinema Manager at ODEON Sheffield, said: “We were thrilled to be able to support Sheffield Children’s Hospital and give the children a wonderful experience. Elio wears an eye patch in the film, and this kind of representation is so important, offering children a sense of belonging and empowerment. We had a fantastic day with the children and families”.