IFPA announces winner of Under the Spotlight Award for psoriasis documentary

125 million people worldwide suffer from psoriasis and the hardships this difficult disease brings. Today, on the International Day of Tolerance we are very proud to announce the winner of the 1st Under the Spotlight Award for Best International Documentary on Psoriasis.

In order to raise awareness about psoriasis, and the burden it places on its sufferers, IFPA in 2009 launched 'Under the Spotlight' a programme designed to portray the true nature of psoriasis via documentaries featuring people with psoriasis from all over the world.  

In 2010 even more countries participated and all the documentaries were posted on www.underthespotlight.com. Viewers were then asked to vote for the documentary that changed their perception of psoriasis the most. We present the winner today, on the International Day of Tolerance, in celebration of these courageous individuals that have chosen to publicly speak of their disease, and so give a very human face to psoriasis and thereby help combat discrimination, intolerance and prejudice. 

We are very pleased to announce the winning documentary to be that of Ms Maria Mercè Vilanova, from Barcelona, Spain, http://www.underthespotlight.com/spotlighters/merce2010.html. Mercè received the news with the following words: "I never felt I was going to be able to share openly my suffering after more than 20 years with this disease. Now I am really glad for the opportunity that I have had. We should never lose hope, and it is important to transmit how psoriasis affects our lives in order to encourage research and that other people do not withdraw into themselves like the majority of us have done for many years. It is important that we all know that there always is, and there always will be, a friend ready to help us." 

Ms Juana Maria del Molino, President of the Spanish Psoriasis Association, comments: "From Acció Psoriasi we thank IFPA for launching the Under the Spotlight project, allowing psoriasis sufferers to express their feelings and let people know how hard everyday life with psoriasis may be. Everybody seeing the Spanish documentary was deeply touched. So we congratulate all these brave people who have participated to help other sufferers to overcome the illness. The documentary has been a great opportunity to expand knowledge on psoriasis."  

Source: IFPA