Tales of the 'One in Ten' is a new animated web series based on the real stories of Australian children from disadvantaged backgrounds who struggle daily with the effects of financial hardship. The series aims to raise awareness of disadvantage and its effects. The stories are drawn from the case studies provided by children's educational charity 'The Smith Family' who regularly come across challenging but inspiring stories of children overcoming adversity.
The series begins with Alice and the Giant Emptiness and will continue with further stories about other children and their experiences of disadvantage and how they overcome them. From the creative statement by The Solid State:
"Alice and the Giant Emptiness focuses on issues facing children from disadvantaged families. These problems are far-reaching and affect all areas of their lives including their social and educational development and their self-esteem. The film attempts to capture how disadvantage affects a child emotionally by using some of the storytelling tools often found in fairy tales. These traditional stories have enormous power and impact and connect so many of us of different ages and nationalities. Symbols like mirrors, dark clouds and holes are simple and immediate in conveying certain ideas and emotions. Children who are the victims of name-calling often describe how the words cause them physical pain. The film attempts to capture this with the black ‘word’ cloud that attacks Alice like the ‘Dementors’ in Harry Potter. The force of the attack leaves her with a giant hole which is symbolic of the self-esteem she now lacks."
The Solid State is an award-winning creative agency from Sydney, Australia specialising in film and television campaigns. They work closely with filmmakers, distributors, sales agents and networks at all stages of film and television production – from pitching and presales, to sales at market as well as theatrical campaigns. Their work crosses a broad range of disciplines encompassing marketing strategy and positioning as well as the production of trailers, posters, websites and social media campaigns. Recent projects include Tim Winton’s The Turning, Redfern Now, Kill Me 3 Times and Warwick Thornton’s The Darkside.
The Smith Family is a national charity helping young Australians in need to get the most out of their education, so they can create better futures for themselves. The Smith Family believes every child deserves a chance and that circumstances should never limit potential. With research showing education can transform lives, the charity’s Learning for Life program enables disadvantaged young people to get the opportunities they need to fully participate in their education and create better futures for themselves.
You can view the film, buy the song featured in the film or make a donation to The Smith Family at the newly launched website - http://talesoftheoneinten.com/ and follow the campaign on Twitter.
