Arpita Mandal spends her days in distress about how to feed her children two meals a day and ensure that they are able to get an education of their own in her small village in India. Arpita and her family do not have any land to cultivate, living in just a 5’X7’ one single room home with a small veranda. Arpita shares her home with two children, her husband and mother-in-law. After Arpita’s husband was forced to leave the family to make a decent income, she discovered nonprofit Trickle Up and was able to earn her own income and join in a community of local women in similar circumstances.
Trickle Up focuses on the toughest challenges in global poverty alleviation: to reach the poorest, most vulnerable, isolated people and create trajectories towards financial independence.
Titled “Arpita Mandal,” this video directed by Mark Littman of Bodega peers closer into Arpita’s journey with Trickle Up and how the empowerment of its services have not only boosted her financial situation, but also her outlook on the future and self worth.
Bodega has lent its talent and expertise to media messaging for Trickle Up for more than a decade. Littman, Bodega co-founder/partner, has journeyed to such places as India and Guatemala to tell the story of the nonprofit Trickle Up.
CreditsClient Trickle Up Production Bodega Mark Littman, director; Min Park, producer; Chris Carson, editor; Brady Hearn, mixer/sound designer; Chris Hengeveld, color. Motion Graphics Mr. Wonderful Joe Boylan, motion graphics art director; Jade Stickle, animator
Top Spot of the Week: EHRAC, Animation Studio NOMINT Depict Life “In Limbo” As Families Search For Loved Ones
This animated film titled In Limbo depicts the journey of a heroic woman protagonist representing the countless families in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe (where Chechnya is situated) searching for their forcibly disappeared loved ones. Utilizing theatrical elements, the film highlights the unnatural disruption caused by enforced disappearances and delves into the profound trauma these families endure. It emphasizes their long battles with the domestic authorities as they seek answers. The film also underscores the vital role of community support in helping these families cope and continue their fight for answers, serving as a compelling call to action for justice and human rights.
Through intimate storytelling, In Limbo raises awareness of the ongoing uncertainty that leaves families in a perpetual state of limbo, unable to find closure.
Directed by Afterman--the animation duo consisting of Tsvetelina Zdraveva and Jerred North--and created and produced by London-based animation studio NOMINT, In Limbo was commissioned by the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC).
In a joint statement, Zdraveva and North shared, “Our film takes place on a theater stage, highlighting how such tragedies are far removed from ordinary life,” they continued. “The stage is circular, resembling an artificial, perpetually spinning obstacle course, with a target—the red tail lights—just within sight yet never within reach, symbolizing the family’s never-ending quest for justice.”
“We used a limited primary color palette to contrast the two worlds all families are pulled between. Minimalist compositions of starkly silhouetted characters and environments create the ominous atmosphere of a deeply painful and... Read More