See how inclusive storytelling, character design, and narrative-driven animated short film can bring communities closer to change. When the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO) first approached us, they weren’t looking for “just another campaign.” They had something far more ambitious in mind: they wanted to take their PrEP Resource — an […]
See how inclusive storytelling, character design, and narrative-driven animated short film can bring communities closer to change.
When the African and Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario (ACCHO) first approached us, they weren’t looking for “just another campaign.” They had something far more ambitious in mind: they wanted to take their PrEP Resource — an important HIV prevention toolkit — and transform it into something dynamic, engaging, and unforgettable.
From the start, the ask was clear. This project had to resonate deeply with Ontario’s African, Caribbean, and Black communities. It couldn’t feel like a lecture. It couldn’t feel like outside information dropped into the community. It had to feel personal.
It was ACCHO’s own vision to experiment with animation, but once the seed was planted, we saw the opportunity to do something bigger: not just animated clips, but a series of animated short films.
Why Short Film?
Because short films carry weight. They’re compact, but intentional. They aren’t built to be disposable content that’s forgotten as quickly as it scrolls past. Short films invite you to pause for a moment, to take in a story, to see yourself reflected.
With animated short film as our framework, we could transform HIV prevention into narrative storytelling. We could move away from static information and toward a more emotional, human-centred way of connecting with people.
Building the Narrative
Together with our partners at Maku Productions, we developed three animated short films.
Each one was rooted in a different everyday setting:
- The Restaurant — a story for men who have sex with men.
- The Barbershop — a story for heterosexual men.
- The Park — a story for cisgender women.
These weren’t random choices. They were places where real conversations happen: over a plate of food, in the familiar rhythm of a haircut, during a walk with friends. These were settings that felt comfortable and familiar to folks in the Black community, places where talk about health could feel natural rather than forced.
Each short film became a window into a different lived experience, but together they painted a bigger picture: PrEP is accessible to everyone who needs it.
Representation Matters
Representation wasn’t an afterthought in this project — it was the foundation.
Every detail was intentional: the complexion of the characters, the textures of their hairstyles, the dialects in their voices. We worked with a diverse group of voice actors to ensure the nuances of Caribbean and African speech patterns were honoured. Because a Caribbean accent doesn’t sound the same as an African one. Both needed to be heard.
This was about more than accuracy. It was about trust. Communities are more likely to engage with health information when they feel seen and heard in the delivery of it. By reflecting real people in these short films, we created space for connection.
The Process Behind the Scenes
Telling these stories meant building them layer by layer:
Scriptwriting: Crafting dialogue that felt like real conversations, not lectures.
Voice recording: Partnering with actors whose performances felt genuine and relatable.
Character design: Collaborating on illustrations that represented a spectrum of Black Canadian identities.
Animation: Bringing those characters to life with movement, expression, and timing.
Sound design: Adding background noise, music, and subtle effects to create an immersive experience.
Accessibility: Including subtitles and text overlays so nothing was lost in translation.
Each short film was kept under two minutes, making them perfectly suited for social media — but short didn’t mean shallow. They were vibrant, nuanced, and layered with meaning.
Why Animation Worked
Animation gave us creative freedom to say things live action never could.
It softened heavy subject matter without losing its urgency. It created approachable entry points for tough conversations. It allowed us to shape characters and environments that reflected the community in ways that felt uplifting and affirming.
Most importantly, animation gave us space to tell stories with empathy. Instead of medical jargon, we had people — familiar faces, familiar voices — talking about real concerns, real choices, real solutions.
From Resource to Campaign
By the end, we had three animated short films. But we didn’t stop there. We designed graphics, cut-down versions, and a creative rollout plan that made this series bigger than the sum of its parts.
What began as a static toolkit became a dynamic animated short film campaign, ready to be shared across social media, frontline health worker toolkits, and community networks.
The impact wasn’t just in the information delivered. It was in the way people responded: by seeing themselves in the story, by feeling that this message was for them.
Why This Work Matters
PrEP is a vital tool in HIV prevention, but tools don’t matter if they don’t reach people in ways that feel authentic. Health equity is not just about access to medicine — it’s about access to stories that make people believe the medicine is for them.
This project was about narrowing the gap between information and trust. It was about acknowledging stigma, inequities, and lived experience — and creating stories that could move through those barriers with honesty and care.
The Bigger Picture
This project reaffirmed something we’ve always believed at See Girl Work: short films aren’t just for the arts. They’re not limited to nonprofits. They’re powerful tools for any organization that needs to connect with people on a human level.
Narrative storytelling, character animation, and inclusive representation can take an idea and turn it into a movement. For ACCHO, it turned an HIV prevention toolkit into something communities could share, understand, and trust.
For us, it was another reminder that when stories are told with intention, they can change how people see themselves and what’s possible.
Reimagining Health Equity Through Animated Short Film
At See Girl Work, we don’t create content — we craft cultural moments. The PrEP Resource series was more than animation; it was narrative, character, and representation fused into a short film format built to resonate.
By centring voice, dialect, and lived experience, we translated complex health equity into storytelling that could be felt as much as understood. This is what we do best: transform briefs into bold, human-centred creative that stands apart.
