A 27-year-old Aberystwyth man has been involved in making a short film as part of a cystic fibrosis charity’s “biggest and most successful campaign to date”. 

Kieron Smith was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was six. For many years, he chose to hide his condition.

He said: “People don’t know what cystic fibrosis is, people imagine it’s something very extreme where you’re stuck on an oxygen tank. That’s why I wanted to get involved, I hated having to explain myself when I was younger.

“When I was diagnosed I began being treated differently. People asked me lots of questions. I had to stay inside over lunch to take lots of tablets and ensure I ate enough.

“I hid it when I moved to a new school in Aberystwyth when I was eight. But hiding something that big, it isolates you and makes it hard for you to get help.”

But everything changed when Kieron decided to talk about his condition. He reached out to the CF Trust hoping to get involved in writing an article about it. 

But Kieron has contributed more than his words to the charity after being invited to fill a central role in a short film the CF Trust put together to raise awareness about the condition. 

“The opportunity came up to be involved in this film. It became a huge campaign, it was amazing. I spent a full day going through the filming process and after the film was released, my face was put up on billboards across London.”

The film explored the two sides of living with cystic fibrosis for Kieron. He regularly goes to the gym, eats healthy and looks after his body. But there’s also the side of Kieron’s life behind closed doors, having to take multiple tablets a day.

“A lot goes on behind closed doors. It was interesting, and quite freeing to see those two sides of my life being contrasted so clearly from each other in the film.”

The film has been so successful that it has reached the final in the charity film of the year award hosted by the Smiley Charity Film Awards. 

“It’s all really exciting, we’ve reached the final stages. I’d be buzzing if we won the award.” You can influence the results of the award by voting for Kieron and the CF Trust short film online on the smiley charity film awards website until this Tuesday March 12: https://smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/you-dont-see-cf