The initiative proved a huge success in terms of participation, with more than 3,200 projects submitted by people from over 125 countries: 2,171 short films, 637 photographs and 423 short stories.   

According to the directors of the Chair, Dr Cristina Monforte and Dr Josep Porta, “the main aim behind creating the WeCare Festival: Living to the End was to promote creative depictions of the final stage in life. The fantastic response to the first edition confirms the need to create a forum for reflecting on the end of life, an issue that affects us all, and which all the entries explored in different manners”. 

After assessing the short-listed entries, the jury, which was made up of professionals from the field of health and the arts, such as Helena Camell, Rafael de España, Jordi Puigdomènech, Rebeca Pardo, Iris Crespo, Carla Gracia, Teresa Vallès, Nadia Collette and Montse Morcate, announced the names of the winners. 

• Short films – This category featured two awards: first place went to Juan Alejandro Bermúdez (Colombia) for his work Fantastic Four, while second place was awarded to Pablo Polledri (Argentina) and his short film Momentos [Moments]. 
• Short story – This award was presented for the work Estoy contigo [I’m With You], by Laura Boned (Spain). 
• Photography – The award for Best Photograph went to Teodoro Peláez (Philippines) for his work “Love Without Borders”. 

The winners also received a unique hand crafted work by young artist Carla Cascales Alimbau. 

The Festival’s closing event also featured a round table discussion entitled “Living to the End”, moderated by journalist Marta Cáceres, with speakers from such distinct fields as film, art therapy and palliative care. 

Fernando Trullols, first assistant director on the film A Monster Calls, talked about the end of life in the world of film, in relation to his experience working on the hit film by J. A. Bayona. Dr Vinita Mahtani, a doctor and researcher in the Research Unit at the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital and Primary Care Centre in Tenerife, on the other hand, shared with attendees the value of giving scientific results an artistic/creative format. Lastly, Dr Jordi Trelis, care director for hospitals belonging to the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) and director of Palliative Care for the Catalan Network of Oncology, stressed the importance of palliative care for people in the final stage of life.

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