In Nancy, a stop-motion animated film to raise children’s awareness of cyberbullying

Babayagagogo is a very cute little turtle but he is also the star of the future animated film which is currently being prepared in Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle). Co-constructed by the Paraboleurs association and National Education, the short film is inspired by African tales to denounce cyberbullying. Les Paraboleurs, a company specializing in children’s stories, has already adapted the story of Babayagagogo into a book and a show. For several months, she has embarked on the production of a film in stop motion.

Fish, birds, turtles… After designing these resin and silicone animals, they must then be brought to life. This involves a widely used technique, stop motion. “It’s a technique that requires frame-by-frame animation, it’s the succession of twelve frames to get a second. You have to move your character a little bit with each photo and then in the end, it comes to life”explains Myriam Schott, director of the short film.

Raising awareness of bullying

It is a creative project but also and above all educational since the film is aimed at young people and deals with harassment. With characters and a story drawn from the African universe, the storyteller and creator of the project Chyc Polhit wants in particular to denounce cyberbullying. “In the past, we too were harassed, but it stopped at school. Unfortunately today, harassment continues in the digital arena. On Twitter or TikTok, we continue to trample these poor animals like this little turtle.“The film team is currently working on the production of the sets and the characters and it is still possible to support them financially in their project.