A man struggles with thoughts of suicide while his daughter prepares for her wedding, a team of disabled climbers support each other as they tackle the peaks of the Cairngorms, and a hospice helps a woman say a final goodbye to her husband.
It’s impactful scenes such as these that made the winners of the “Smiley” Charity Film Awards stand out to the public voters and judges alike.
Since their inception nine years ago, the awards have supported more than 5,000 charities, generated an astounding 400m film viewings, and engaged more than 1 million people through voting.
Recognised by the British Film Institute and IMDb, the awards hold the title of the world’s largest cause-based film campaign, standing as the pinnacle of recognition for charities across the UK. This year, charities large and small competed to win one of 15 coveted trophies, including Grand Prix – Film of the Year, Grand Prix – People’s Choice and an International Impact award.
Categories are based on each charity’s annual income so every entrant, regardless of size and budget, had the chance to win. Winners were chosen by an esteemed panel of industry judges, with People’s Choice winners being voted for by the public. As a result, 29 worthy winning charities received a total of £101,000 in prize funding, including £10,000 to each Grand Prix winner.
Thanks to these moving and immersive films, a focus was placed on the incredible work achieved by charities across the UK, helping them foster meaningful connections with their supporters.
Watch these videos, and you’ll certainly shed a few tears – but every view helps raise awareness, and every donation makes a difference. So take a look at the winners of the 2026 “Smiley” Charity Film Awards, and if a film speaks to you, why not find out more about the charity behind it and consider becoming a valued supporter?
Category: Grand Prix Film of the Year
Winner: StreetDoctors, watch: The Fatal Question
This year, the Grand Prix prize was awarded to the charity StreetDoctors, which trains young people in the physical and psychological consequences of street violence. The winning three-minute film asks young people: “Where is a safe place to stab?” Their answers trigger news footage and interviews with the relatives of children who have died after being stabbed in “safe” parts of the body, revealing the film’s hard-hitting message: there is no safe place to stab.
People’s Choice award winner: RSPCA England & Wales, watch: Alesha and Roy
“Those poor animals can’t speak for themselves,” says singer Alesha Dixon as she watches footage of a dog, Roy, being abused, before he was rescued by RSPCA England & Wales. She later meets a happy, healthy Roy and his new owners, neatly demonstrating the difference the animal welfare charity can make to mistreated pets.
Category: under £100,000
Winner: Trybe House Theatre, watch: If Home Is Where the Heart Is
Trybe House Theatre’s mission is to provide young black men with a platform where they can unleash their creative sides and build resilience. In the charity’s winning video, a poem read over footage of young black men going about their lives describes the discrimination and trauma they face – and how: “If home is where the heart is … it means we know the hollow feeling of nothing.” At the close of the film, Trybe House Theatre is shown to be a home from home “where the wings of black boys are allowed to soar”, profoundly showcasing the company’s vital work.
People’s Choice award winner: Billy & Beyond, watch: Live by Choice, not by Chance, Beyond Billy
Founded in the memory of Nicci Parish’s son, Billy, who tragically died after taking MDMA, Billy and Beyond provides education to young people about the potential hazards of recreational drugs. In this winning film, Nicci and Billy’s friends and relatives remember him, and explain why the charity was founded.
Category: £100,000-£250,000
Winner: Face Equality International, watch: Join the Fight for Face Equality
This snappy, 62-second video was created by Face Equality International, an alliance of NGOs, charities and support groups working together to encourage respect for facial differences. In the film, British actor Adam Pearson enters a moodily lit boxing ring wearing gloves bearing the legend “face/equality”, and begins warming up for a match. The bout ends with a needle-scratch moment when his opponent swings the first punch, bringing with it an abrupt change of tone. We won’t spoil the ending, but it’s a fantastic introduction to Pearson’s new role as the charity’s patron.
People’s Choice award winner: OneKind, watch: Don’t Pet Me
As part of its mission to free animals of all stripes from suffering, Scottish charity OneKind produced its winning video to alert the public to the fact that wild animals aren’t suitable as pets. Colourful and poetic, it reminds us that “some people brandish their pets like a prize” – but that animal welfare should come first.
Category: £250,000-£500,000
Winner: Ruddi’s Retreat, watch: The Christmas Advert
Ruddi’s Retreat helps families dealing with cancer by providing free holidays where they can rest, recuperate and make memories without worrying about the cost. The charity’s powerful Christmas advert shows a family’s journey as they struggle to deal with a child’s cancer diagnosis before enjoying a restorative festive break in Blackpool, courtesy of the charity. The film neatly showcases the real difference that donations to Ruddi’s Retreat can make to the families it supports.
People’s Choice award winner: Shropshire Cat Rescue, watch: Rudy Reporting on the Importance of Neutering
In this playful film from Shropshire Cat Rescue, Rudy the cat speaks with some of his fellow felines to help explain the consequences of failing to neuter your cat. Along the way, Rudy meets males who have been injured in fights due to being unneutered, and a female cat dealing with an unwanted litter of kittens, who all help bring the message home.
Category: £500,000-£1m
Winner: Electric Umbrella, watch: It’s Not a Crime to Be Different
Working alongside members of Hertfordshire Constabulary, Electric Umbrella created its winning entry: a sunshine-hued music video that will lift your spirits while delivering an important message and a catchy tune. The charity – which empowers people with learning disabilities through musical workshops and performances – uses the video to shine a light on hate crimes and “people going after people just for being who they are”. Soaked in humour, it’s as much a joyful celebration of difference as an effective campaign message.
People’s Choice award winner: Carefree, watch: Michael’s Story: Change Happens Overnight
Carefree offers respite to full-time unpaid carers by transforming vacant hotel rooms into spaces where they can take a well-earned break. Michael cares for his wife, who has multiple sclerosis, and Carefree’s film tells the story of how he’s benefited from the charity’s work and why it’s so important.
Category: £1m-£2.5m
Winner: Staffordshire Women’s Aid, watch: Celebrating 50 Years of Staffordshire Women’s Aid
This impactful film charts the past 50 years of Staffordshire Women’s Aid’s work, from a woman sitting under a crudely painted banner welcoming a bruised mother in 1976 through to the team of workers supporting victims of domestic and sexual violence today. It’s both an apt commemoration and an effective reminder of why charities dealing with domestic abuse so desperately need the public’s support.
People’s Choice award winner: British Hen Welfare Trust, watch: Celebrating two decades of hen rehoming
On a mission to rehome ex-commercial laying hens as pets and educate the public about the welfare of our feathered friends, the British Hen Welfare Trust’s film shows how the charity works and celebrates the people who have made its work possible for the past 20 years.
Category: £2.5m-£5m
Winner: Child Bereavement UK, watch: Room for an Elephant
The impact on children of ignoring “the elephant in the room” when it comes to losing a loved one is addressed in Child Bereavement UK’s winning film. A simple but attention-grabbing animation set to poetry, it asks what happens after a loss when children are: “Confused, lonely, sad or taking the blame, reluctant to mention the person by name.” At the close of the film, bereaved children are encouraged to talk to the charity when they and those around them don’t know what to say.
People’s Choice award winner: Kinship, watch: In the same boat
Kinship carers are family or friends who step up to raise children when their parents are unable to – and Kinship is there to support them. The impact of their work is aptly shown in this film, in which a grandmother raising her two grandchildren explains how Kinship has helped to alleviate her loneliness through its life-changing community of fellow carers.
Category: £5m-£15m
Winner: Cornwall Hospice Care, watch: Cornwall Hospice Care 45 Years
To mark 45 years of caring for people at the end of their lives, Cornwall Hospice Care dramatises a patient’s journey to show the difference the hospice makes to patients, carers, family and friends alike. From an emotional 18th-birthday message delivered from a hospice bed to the patient’s final goodbyes, the film will stay with you long after the charity’s closing promise to be there for families well into the future, thanks to public support.
People’s Choice award winner: Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, watch: Operation Airbase: Coming to a town near you
“It felt like a metaphorical hand leading me to a place of safety,” says one of the interviewees in Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance’s appeal for funds to build a new air base near Southampton Airport. The move from Thruxton, near Andover, will help to save time and lives. The film was projected on to buildings around Hampshire, and the charity’s winning video captures the public’s reaction.
Category: £15m-£50m
Winner: Samaritans, watch: Help Bring Someone’s Future Back
Shining a light on the long-term impact of Samaritans’ work, this category winner juxtaposes scenes of a bride anxiously awaiting her father’s arrival on her wedding day with a man writing a suicide note and calling Samaritans’ helpline for support. The twist in the tale brings a wave of relief, and is a strikingly effective way of conveying the importance of Samaritans’ work, which supports people with suicidal thoughts and those affected by suicide.
People’s Choice award winner: Mountbatten Isle of Wight, watch: The Letter
Mountbatten Isle of Wight hospice is poised to lose 40% of its NHS funding. In this moving film, hospice resident Christine writes a letter about the care, comfort and dignity she’s received at the hands of the charity, and urges the public to support the cause by writing a letter of their own to NHS commissioners, Healthwatch and local MPs.
Category: Over £50m
Winner: Save the Children UK, watch: Don’t Mention the Children
Written in 2014 to address Israel’s ban on radio adverts listing names of children killed in Gaza, Michael Rosen’s poem, Don’t Mention the Children, is at the heart of Save the Children UK’s winning film. Artists and activists including Annie Lennox, Guy Pearce and Vanessa Redgrave read Rosen’s words – “The names of the children must be hidden. The children must be nameless” – to highlight the real-world impact of the conflict. The film closes with a powerful appeal to encourage donations to the charity, which helps children worldwide.
People’s Choice award winner: The Donkey Sanctuary, watch: Stolen Donkeys, Stolen Futures
The Donkey Sanctuaty is a world leader in donkey welfare, whose film explains the human and animal cost behind the donkey skin trade. “I had no words. The pain was unbearable … I couldn’t feed my children,” says Esther, whose donkey was one of millions that are stolen or sold across Africa to produce traditional Chinese medicine.
Category: Longform under £500,000
Winner: Climb2Recovery, watch: Climb2Recovery
Climb2Recovery’s film shows first-hand the impact of its work supporting the recovery of wounded, injured and sick veterans through climbing. Following a group of real C2R members as they tackle the challenges of the stunning Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands, they relate their own experiences of how the charity has helped them on their journeys through recovery and resilience, revealing the real people, heart and warmth that lies behind the charity’s work.
People’s Choice award winner: The Compassionate Friends, watch: Take That Step
The Compassionate Friends supports grieving parents and families, and the charity’s winning film shows the real-world impact of its work. Bereaved parents and siblings speak movingly about those they have lost, and how the charity has supported them through their grief.
Category: Longform £500,000-£5m
Winner: Rural Media Charity, watch: Jordan Stephens & the Breaking Out Boys – the Interview
The Rural Media Charity supports young people in rural areas and underserved communities, to help develop their creative talents and drive social change through film, media and the digital arts. In this short film, teenage participants from the charity’s Breaking Out programme – which focuses on themes surrounding positive masculinity – interview rapper Jordan Stephens on issues affecting young men, particularly in rural areas, to encourage other teenagers to start similar conversations.
People’s Choice award winner: World Villages for Children, watch: Irmas: The Life of the Sisters of Mary
World Villages for Children supports the Sisters of Mary, who work tirelessly to end poverty through education. This documentary film follows the sisters and the children who benefit from their work as they provide them with a safe place in school where they can receive a life-changing education.
Category: Longform over £5m
Winner: Prior’s Court, watch: The Long Road; Stories of love, hope and autistic young people with complex needs
“If Prior’s Court didn’t exist, I would probably be dead,” says mum Suzanne Robinson at the start of the charity’s impactful film. Providing education and residential care for autistic people aged five to 25 with complex needs, Prior’s Court’s winning entry demonstrates how it’s effectively transforming lives through the real-life stories of current and former residents. By showing the Berkshire-based charity’s effect on autistic people and their families first-hand, it hammers home the vital need for public support.
People’s Choice award winner: Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust, watch: Essex & Herts Air Ambulance presents: Navigating grief after sudden and traumatic loss
The Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust is available to the sick and injured 24/7, and here the charity gives the families of loved ones who have died the chance to share their stories. Their experiences viscerally reveal the impact of grief after a sudden loss and, in turn, the importance of the air ambulance service’s life-saving work.
Category: International Impact
Winner: WeProtect Global Alliance, watch: Protect Us
The WeProtect Global Alliance is committed to tackling online threats and protecting the 300 million children who fall victim to online exploitation each year. Dramatising three of the scenarios today’s children are facing, the International Impact award winner depicts the effect of catfishing and blackmail, AI-generated photographs and chatbots encouraging suicidal ideation. It’s an effective way of showing how easily children can be manipulated online, and why the charity exists to protect them.
People’s Choice award winner: Grupo Mulheres do Brasil, watch: Fios de Encontro – Threads of Connection
The Women of Brazil group is a collective of thousands of women across the country who are working together to build a better Brazil and challenge inequality. Their winning video follows beneficiaries of the Voices of Freedom project, which offers women released from prison hope of autonomy and the chance to earn an income by teaching them how to make Tenerife lace.
Category: Corporate Cause
Winner: Royal College of Nursing, watch: This is Nursing
To the soundtrack of Andra Day’s uplifting anthem Rise Up, the Royal College of Nursing’s film follows some of the highs and lows that real nurses, carers and midwives encounter every day. With the closing message: “This is nursing. And nursing is worth fighting for,” the film aptly demonstrates why the work of the RCN – which fights for safe staffing levels, higher standards and fairer pay – is so essential for patients and nursing staff alike.
Find out more about supporting the charities celebrated by the “Smiley” Charity Film Awards
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In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
