FINALIST 2026
Made with domestic abuse survivors across Manchester, Kate’s Story: Transforming the Lives of Children In Refuge was created to raise vital funds needed to improve play areas for children living in Manchester Women’s Aid (MWA) refuges across the city.
Part of a flash crowdfunding Big Give campaign, the aim was to raise over £20,000 in just one week to improve outdoor play spaces for children living in refuge as part of MWA's 50th anniversary campaign. A target that was smashed, with the help of this film. Not only that but the film needed to have a life after the campaign, existing online to reach out to women with children who may be unsure what to expect from refuge, helping them to make the first step to escape abuse.
Our vision for the film was to give a voice to the women living in refuge and highlight how it can help women and their children escaping violence. ‘Kate’s Story’ is the combination of hours of real-life interviews with survivors, sharing their experiences of how MWA helped them and their children find safety and joy again.
Both the charity and the crew at Films Not Words, felt passionately that the women at the centre of the service should be involved in the film. We are proud that not only did the film do its job - hitting the funding target in just one week - but that it empowered the women involved, a key aim of MWA. More than simply raising funds, it gave a voice to women who have everything else taken away, giving them agency over their own stories.
Ashleigh Saville, MWA Project Manager, says: "Working with the Films not Words team was an absolute pleasure. They perfectly captured what we wanted, a film which showed the impact that domestic abuse has on women and children and how going into refuge is the first step to freedom, with a call to action to help us transform the lives of children in refuge through our crowdfunder - no easy task to bring all elements of this story together!
"They understood the need for sensitivity and confidentially around domestic abuse, maintained excellent communication and made the women they spoke to feel comfortable sharing their story. This film helped us to raise £22,500 in a week which I'm confident we would not have done without them. I would work with them again in a heartbeat!"
Manchester Women’s Aid, part of The Pankhurst Trust, empowers survivors by providing refuge, community-based support and safe spaces.
We exist to offer clients the confidential help they need and to provide a holistic, safety-first approach, where the prospect of a life free from abuse is possible.
In the last ten years alone, our work has impacted the lives of over 30,000 adults and children helping them live a life free from domestic abuse.
We align with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
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