Beautiful ‘Know Yourself’ Film Shows How Knowing Your Body Could Save Your Life

PRETTYBIRD has teamed up with Fold7 and breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel! on a new campaign directed by Jess Kohl.

CoppaFeel!, the breast cancer awareness charity, is committed to ensuring every young person has the best possible chance of surviving breast cancer. The push is driven by the concerning research by CoppaFeel! which shows a quarter of young people aren’t aware that breast cancer could affect them and 1 in 5 young people say they would delay going to a GP after finding symptoms because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

‘Know Yourself’ by Fold7 is a raw and real display of young people (18-24) on a voyage of self-discovery with their bodies. The film opens on a man checking himself out in the mirror. Continuing with a series of vignettes, we cut to a woman in her late teens inspecting the moles on her back; a trans man adjusting his binding; then other young people armpit sniffing, bottom squeezing, leg hair scratching, and curve caressing.

Central to the campaign is the notion that no one knows your body better than you and being aware of what your normal is means you’re more likely to notice a change. In the final scene we see a young woman touching a scar from her preventative lumpectomy. The end-line is ‘Breast cancer can affect any body. Getting to know yours could save your life’.

Many of the scenes in the film were informed by the cast’s real-life experiences of their own self exploration. It is an unashamedly honest portrayal of personal discovery from a charity determined to encourage young people to explore their uniquely wonderful bodies.      

Created by Jo and Kiran, Fold7 worked with director, Jess Kohl at PRETTYBIRD. Music was composed by David Goulding. Throughout the development of the campaign the team worked closely with a collective of diverse young talent sourced through D&AD Shift, the initiative that gives young creatives access to industry mentorship and live briefs. 

Juliette Larthe, co-founder and executive producer, PRETTYBIRD UK commented: "It was really important for us and our community to embrace inclusivity around the diversity on who gets struck by this killer disease, creating awareness around a disease that swiftly turns critical if not checked. It was a privilege to work with the community who kindly gave their time and their presence to help Jess Kohl and PRETTYBIRD make the film happen for COPPAFEEL, whom we as a company have worked with before and will always find time to make these public service campaigns. The take out should be.. please check yourself regularly." 

Director Jess Kohl said: ”The idea for the project was not only to raise awareness around an important issue - that young people of any gender can be effected by breast cancer - but also to encourage young people to get comfortable with their bodies, to embrace themselves whatever shape and size, however they identify - and by doing so, potentially protect themselves from a life threatening illness.”

The campaign is extended further in print and outdoor, with the human body presented as a landscape to be explored by overlaying geographical contour lines across intimate close-up photography. The ‘human landscape’ images were captured by photographer Kristina Varaksina through Fujifilm, with a public exhibition of the images taking place at the Fujifilm House of Photography in central London from the 1st of October.

Sinéad Molloy, Head of Marketing at CoppaFeel!, commented: “CoppaFeel! exists to give young people the best chance of surviving breast cancer through early detection. We are constantly challenging ourselves to find new and inventive ways to connect with our audience and get them to see breast cancer as a relevant issue in their lives.” 

Yelena Gaufman, Strategy Partner, Fold7, said: “This is our fourth year working with CoppaFeel! - a partnership built on a shared belief in creating impact through inventiveness. This year, we set out to connect with our audience on a more basic, more fundamental level. All we asked is for them to know it can happen and know their own bodies – to be their own best advocates.”  

The campaign will run across TV, radio, print and social in September, through to October, which is breast cancer awareness month.