What is love…

Dravet Syndrome UK is the UK’s only charity dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by Dravet Syndrome, a rare, life-long and life-limiting neurological condition causing severe, drug-resistant epilepsy, intellectual disability and a range of complex health challenges. Around one in every 15,000 babies in the UK is born with Dravet Syndrome. DSUK supports almost 600 families across the country, providing information, community and advocacy for people navigating one of the most challenging rare disease diagnoses a family can face.

Dravet Syndrome UK commissioned Nutmeg Productions to create a fundraising film that would do two things simultaneously: raise awareness of Dravet Syndrome among audiences who may never have heard of it, and move those audiences to donate. The challenge with rare disease fundraising films is significant. You are asking people to care deeply about a condition that affects a very small number of families, in a crowded charity fundraising landscape where larger causes dominate public attention.

The film needed to make Dravet Syndrome real, urgent and human in a way that only great documentary filmmaking can.

We put families at the heart of the film. Nutmeg Productions has extensive experience working with contributors who are sharing profoundly difficult personal experiences, children with complex medical needs, parents living with exhaustion and fear and love in equal measure, and that experience shaped how we approached every aspect of this production.

We took time to understand the reality of life with Dravet Syndrome before filming began: the unpredictability of seizures, the isolation families can feel, the resilience that exists alongside the hardship. That understanding is what makes the film feel true rather than constructed. We didn’t tell people what to say. We created the conditions for them to say it themselves.

The film was named a finalist in the Smiley Awards 2026 — the UK’s leading recognition for excellence in charity film production. For a small charity working in the rare disease space, a Smiley Award finalist placing represents significant recognition and a powerful endorsement of both the cause and the craft of the film and it provides a huge platform for new audiences.

The film continues to be used by Dravet Syndrome UK as a centrepiece of their fundraising and awareness communications, helping the charity reach new donors and build understanding of a condition that too few people know exists.