BEHIND THE SMILE: SICKLE CELL AT WORK
Behind the Smile is an eight-minute short film capturing the Black Googler Network x EMERGE The ERG Community event, “Behind The Smile: Sickle Cell at Work”, through immersive visuals and voice.
Told from my perspective as both attendee and observer, the piece intertwines the energy of the room with the reflective voice of Alvin Ikenwe, who lives with sickle cell. Though Alvin was not present at the event, his narration flows throughout; not as a spokesperson, but as a reminder. His words ground the film in emotional truth, echoing the unseen weight of an illness often hidden behind a façade of professionalism, productivity, and poise.
The event brought together voices from across the NHS, Get Medical, Universal Music, Channel 4, and the African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), creating space for honesty, empathy, and education.
Blending documentary intimacy with poetic narration, Behind the Smile explores what it means to live with — and live around — an invisible condition. It reflects the atmosphere and heart of the day, offering a tool for internal inspiration, external awareness, and community understanding.
Rather than explain, the film invites the viewer to feel: to notice the quiet strength, the fatigue behind laughter, and the humanity carried behind every smile.
“There’s such sensitivity and poetic depth in your work; it carries real humanity and reflection.”
Tone
Behind the Smile carries a quiet, reflective energy, building impact through subtlety and restraint. It focuses on the moments that often go unnoticed: a pause in conversation, a gesture of care, the weight behind a smile. The piece invites audiences to tune in to the layers of emotion in the room, to recognise the lived experiences that are rarely visible, and to witness resilience expressed in vulnerability. By blending observation with thoughtful storytelling, the film cultivates a space for reflection, empathy, and deeper understanding, showing that presence and attentiveness can reveal truths words alone cannot convey.
Themes
Visibility vs Invisibility
The contrast between what is seen and what is hidden.
Work and Worth
How people with sickle cell navigate expectations and value in professional spaces.
Care as Community Power
Highlighting collective care, advocacy, and the role of community in driving change - sometimes, awareness is the start of care.
Strength, Reimagined
Redefining strength through truth-telling, vulnerability, and reflection.
A New Type of Journalism
Traditional journalism often focuses on the visible, the reportable, and the headline-worthy. Yet much of life happens in the quiet, in the subtle gestures, in the moments that are habitually felt rather than seen. Behind the Smile embraces a new approach, one that prioritises layered perspective and emotional resonance over exposition.
By blending immersive observation with intimate voiceovers, the piece uncovers the unseen truths of living with sickle cell, revealing the weight, the resilience, and the humanity that exist behind everyday interactions. This method moves beyond surface storytelling, creating work that connects audiences to lived experience, presence, and feeling.
In an age saturated with content, this approach positions narrative as a tool for empathy and understanding. It demonstrates that storytelling can be both reflective and immersive, offering audiences insight into lives already being lived, while inspiring reflection and action to deepen engagement with communities.
