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The Whole Journey

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I wanted to make an animation to raise awareness of organisations that assist people who have survived human trafficking, slavery, or abuse. Having grown up in Afghanistan, I realise it’s often not possible for people to tell their own stories publicly, due to the stigma that unfortunately exists even for survivors. I approached an NGO that helps survivors of such abuse, in Afghanistan, and they were keen for me to animate a story.


This story of “Maryam” hopefully demonstrates the amazing work done by many NGO's and the phenomenal resilience of women and children who have suffered enormously.


I created this in 30 days, part-time, to enter it into the NZ 2020 Bright Awards. The results are yet to be released.


UPDATE: I was fortunate to win the Animation Category of the 2020 NZ Bright Awards. I was awarded NZ$3000 for my school (I hope this can be directed towards the Animation Club that I co-founded) and NZ$1000 for myself. Thanks to all that supported me, your encouragements and critique were invaluable.


Music:

Desert City by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...

Artist: http://incompetech.com/


Dhaka by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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Had a pretty good story that I could follow. I wouldn't say it's the best because it felt like it was going to fast but overall this is pretty great.

Amazing story, with compelling animation to match. Some did not like the pacing, but I felt no such thing.

The pacing is good, dont listen to the zoomers, they have low attention spans

animation and voice work are very very good. the whole thing is very boring, especially due to pacing.

if it were paced much faster it may get better reception.

sketchysquirrel responds:

Thanks for the encouragement and critique. I actually have a version that was sped up and I agree with you, a faster pace helps.

Nice animation! Moving story. This feels like it was targeting people's emotions to get them to support the UN. When in reality, poverty and oppression are the roots of all the evil that such groups claim to save people from.

sketchysquirrel responds:

Thanks for your encouragement. I certainly didn't mean to target anyone's emotions (although the story is pretty emotive). I grew up in Afghanistan, surrounded by this type of work. You often see snap-shots of a survivor's life. Through consistency of care and dedication over time, you sometimes (although rarely) get to see more of an individual's journey to recovery. "Maryam" found herself seeking help at the UNHCR, however, they didn't have the mandate or resources to care for her. They quite rightly sourced a willing and competent NGO to journey with her. You are right, poverty and oppression need to be addressed to create an environment that doesn't afford such abuse. I just wanted to raise awareness of such stories and especially highlight the beautiful strength that can emerge if the dis-empowered are given opportunities. Abuse leads to abuse, a story that shows that cycle being broken can be a powerful one. Thanks again.

Credits & Info

Views
1,670
Faves:
31
Votes
182
Score
4.02 / 5.00

Uploaded
Nov 8, 2020
6:17 AM EST
Genre
Drama