Working with Dr. Camilla Morelli, an anthropologist at the University of Bristol, and Dr. Shirley Famelli, a biologist at the University of Bristol, Animated Research travelled to the Peruvian Amazon to collaborate with local communities in co-producing animated films about biodiversity and cultural heritage.

Over two weeks, we worked with communities in the Pucallpa region to explore which plants and animals were most important to them. Through a series of collaborative workshops, participants shared stories and knowledge that formed the basis of the films.

Together, children, young people, and adults created five stop-motion animations in their local language. The films highlight traditional ecological knowledge, including plants used as natural hair dye, butterflies believed to predict the future, and the medicinal use of snail eggs to treat acne.

By the end of the project, participants had produced a collection of films that celebrate and preserve local knowledge in their own language, while gaining practical experience of the filmmaking process from concept development through to the finished animation.