There are always projects that pop up at Jumbla, which really tug at our heart strings. Polished Man – Thea’s Story was definitely one of them. YGAP’s Polished Man campaign was created to help shed light on the very dark and often untold story of child abuse in Australia. The innovative campaign raises awareness and funds to support the children who suffer physical and sexual violence before the ages of 18.
YGAP’s CEO Elliot Costello came up with the idea for Polished Man after a visit to our project partner Hagar International in Cambodia. One evening, he met a young girl named Thea. Due to their language barrier, the two played naughts and crosses and other games for hours. At the end of the night, Thea drew a heart on Elliot’s palm, and then painted all of his nails blue.
Thea was the inspiration behind the video Jumbla created for Polished Man.
Visualising Thea's dreams and nightmares
Our team had just over one week to bring Thea’s story to life, through her whimsical dreams as well as her dark nightmares.
We took the viewer on a journey through Thea’s mind in an attempt to convey the dramatic and horrifying effect violence has on the innocent joy and adventure of a child.
In the end the team pulled it off in only five days – using detailed frame-by-frame animation techniques explored in our Passion project for Pausefest.
The Jumbla team is now doing their bit to give back, with all of our wonderful #polishedmen getting involved for a great cause.
Why don’t you take up the challenge and paint one nail from October 1 – 15 to end violence against children just like Thea.
To sign up, donate or find out more information visit the Polished Man's website