The Facemakers (2000)

Winner of the US Circle of Excellence Media Awards for Best Medical Documentary and finalist in the New York Film Festival Awards for Best Humanitarian Documentary, 2001.

The Facemakers documents the remarkable changes that occurred in the lives of three children as a result of Operation Smile's visit to Davao City in the Philippines in 1999.

Two of the children received surgery during the mission. Nine-year-old Rozal Garces was treated for her cleft lip, and four-year-old Amorjoy Felipe had a cleft lip and palate revision. The third child, Abel Gastardo, had a condition too severe to be treated during the time of the mission. Abel suffered from a facial encephalocele, an extreme protrusion of brain tissue from the front of his skull.

Seven months later, we follow Abel to the United States. He’s been brought over by Operation Smile to receive major surgery in Virginia, at the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters.

This moving film captures the resilience and bravery of the children and their families whose lives are transformed by surgery.