“What would happen if every girl in the world could discover her own power?” asks a new film series from global education organisation Room to Read, with contributions from UTS Animation alums.
Animation alumni Claudia Chinyere Akole and Bonnie Forsyth are screening new works as part of the six-part international series produced by Nexus Studios, in celebration of International Day of the Girl Child 2023.
Screening at the State Library of NSW on Wednesday 11 October, She Creates Change is a non-profit animation and live-action film project from global education organisation Room to Read. The multimedia initiative, which includes a six-episode film series, books and audio stories, aims to promote gender equality by telling the stories of young women across the world, illustrating “the magic that happens when girls develop life skills, discover their own power and gain access to role models.”
Room to Read is organisation dedicated to ending illiteracy and gender inequality around the world, focusing on low-income communities and collaborating with governments and other orgs to deliver positive outcomes for children.
UTS Animation alums create change
Bonnie Forsyth
Bonnie, who is based at animation studio Mighty Nice, is a director and 2D animator who has worked with clients such as Apple, Nike, Samsung, Google, VB and the Australian Electoral Commission.
Bonnie’s ambition is “to inspire the next generation of creatives”, reflected in her in 2022 win of the AWARD Emerging Director the Year award.
Claudia Chinyere Akole (Photo: James Brickwood)
Claudia is an artist, freelance illustrator, cartoonist, designer, animator and educator, passionate about pursuing projects that further social causes for young people, the LGBTQIA+ community, First Nations people, people of colour, migrants and refugees.
Claudia’s 2021 comic work ‘Why Black Lives Matter Resonates with Black People All Over the World: An Open Letter to Australians (Going Down Swinging)’ was celebrated at the 2021 Comic Arts Awards of Australia.
Notable names
Working on the project alongside Claudia and Bonnie is Oscar-nominated Siqi Song, Hannah Lau-Walker, Neeraja Raj and Prashanti Aswani. Overseeing the project was series director and producer Emmy-winner Martha Adams (Girl Rising, We Will Rise: Michelle Obama’s Mission to Educate Girls Around the World) and Executive Producers Brenda Chapman (Brave) and Jill Culton (Abominable).
The films feature contributions from poet Warsan Shire (whose poetry was adapted for Beyonce’s Lemonade) and voice-over performances from Freida Pinto, Charithra Chandran and Prajakta Koli/MostlySane.
The project will launch in English, Hindi and Spanish, with plans to translate it into dozens of other languages and be distributed globally via Room to Read.
She Creates Change screening
Bonnie and Claudia will be in attendance for a screening of She Creates Change at the State Library of NSW on Wednesday 11 October. Register here.