Watch SWEET YOYO – A Short Film About Type 1 Diabetes

 2019-11-27

Watch Sweet Yoyo, a short film about a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes here


November is Diabetes Awareness Month.

After two years of winning awards at international festivals, Sweet Yoyo, a short film about a child with type 1 diabetes, is now available streaming online for the first time ever. Director Mark Cira and Cannes Lion-winning company The Young Astronauts are partnering with diabetes nonprofit organization Beyond Type 1 to help share the film with the world.

Toronto film-maker Mark Cira, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12. The life-long challenge to manage his condition compelled him to share his struggle through his short film, Sweet Yoyo.

Approximately 1.25 million Americans live with type 1 diabetes, and an estimated 40,000 people are diagnosed with the chronic, autoimmune condition each year.

In Sweet Yoyo, single mom Hannah receives the news that no mother wants to hear: her perfect daughter Jozefin (Yoyo for short) is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Faced with a new and shocking reality, Hannah and Yoyo must navigate the difficulties of growing up with a serious illness. Yoyo quickly learns the difficulty of having a childhood illness, from her new strict diet, to administering daily blood sugar tests at school, to self-injecting. While Yoyo bravely comes to terms with her new reality, Hannah struggles with the financial and emotional burden of having a child with type 1 diabetes.

Wonderfully acted by real-life mother and daughter, Soo Garay and Jozefin Emilia Johnson, Sweet Yoyo has screened at several festivals and won several awards, including Best Short Film at both the Short Stack Film Festival 2018 and Wular International Film Festival 2018.

Watch the full film here, premiering Wednesday, November 27 at 11am PST.


Learn more about type 1 diabetes here. Help raise awareness for type 1 diabetes (T1D) this Diabetes Awareness Month here