Vital Voices - The Story of Kakenya with Diane von Furstenburg intro

Co-director Aaron Kisner on “The Story of Kakenya”: Kakenya's story is one that I have been wanting to tell since I met her in 2007. She inspires me. This specific telling was shaped by her own words. "Every child - it doesn't matter where they are - every child has a dream." It's a powerful reminder of the simple things that unite us. It evoked for me an image of a little girl, in the shade of a tree, dreaming about a future that might not have been likely. Once the decision to tell the story from the perspective of a child had been made, animation seemed like the right vehicle. The idea of collaborating with Pistachios (a lightbulb from the ever-supportive Adina Sales at Blacklist) was really exciting. I have been and continue to be a huge admirer of his work. Co-director Pistachios on “The Story of Kakenya”: I was very inspired by Kakenya’s story and to bring it to life I went for a really simple blocky style of animation. Even when you draw it simple, you can get a lot of expression across just by simple faces and postures. It's almost like the simpler it gets, the more effective the expression will be. I think it's because your brain does the filling-in and it automatically becomes more emotional. I also went for really soft textures and colours, to contrast the sharp shapes. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Pistachios are represented by Blacklist in the US

Vital Voices: Kakenya Client: Vital Voices Global Partnership Co-Director: Aaron Kisner Co-Director: Pistachios Production Company: Blacklist Design and Animation: Pistachios Executive Producer: Adina Sales Music: Dan Radlauer