The Migraine Trust tells harrowing true story with message of hope

The Migraine Trust releases its newest campaign, Relink, from Great Guns director Karel van Bellingen.

The film narrates the true story of van Bellingen's sister Yasmine, alongside genuine footage from her life. Having suffered from migraines from age 11, Yasmine was greatly impacted by the illness over the years, from endless appointments to feelings of isolation, finding her only escape and comfort in horses. Amazingly, antibody treatments have now changed Yasmine’s life, and we learn that she has since raised children, taught fellow riders, and trained horses, all thanks to research and support from the Migraine Trust.

Having witnessed the evolution of his sister’s experience of migraines, director Karel van Bellingen was in the perfect position to deliver on the Migraine Trust’s brief to convey a strong message of new hope. As horses and Yasmine’s illness were always so intertwined, it didn’t take long for Karel to form the idea of integrating that old family footage alongside contemporary imagery into the campaign, shaping the piece into an ode to her journey - with the new CGRP monoclonal antibody therapies providing a natural end.

As both director and editor, the two processes were tightly linked for van Bellingen when crafting this film. Piecing the narrative together in his head from the very beginning of the project, van Bellingen carefully considered the pace and mood of the editing when visualising the end result, as well as the way the flow of the shots should feel. The end result distils two decades worth of footage down to its essential parts, presenting the story in a truthful yet cinematic way.

In creating the tone of the film, van Bellingen had to strike the delicate balance between its ultimately uplifting message thanks to the arrival of new medications and the harrowing suffering that preceded it. Determined to do the story justice, van Bellingen interviewed his sister at length in order to shape the essence of her experience into an honest narration. Needing to address the severity of a monumental subject in a mere few minutes, van Bellingen was careful to offer enough weight to both the new hope and years of pain within the time frame, ensuring that the overall feeling is one of positivity without glossing over the negative.