THE FELL WE CLIMB | ANTI RACIST CUMBRIA
Format: Animated Short Film
Launch: Premiered October 2022 during Black History Month
Genre: Scripted, Inspirational Drama – based on lived experiences
AN INTRODUCTION
The Fell We Climb is an award-winning animated short film inspired by the real life experiences of Black and Brown youngsters growing up in Cumbria. (IMDB Page)
In 2020, +3K Animation Studios teamed up with Anti Racist Cumbria and Executive Producer, TV’s Nigel Clarke, to bring to life a spell-binding and authentic character driven story to inspire future generations to become anti-racist.
Watch the Introduction to The Fell We Climb to find out about the project that took two years to bring to life.
The Response
To date, the film has won 16 International awards and 38 selections including 1 Finalist, 12 Semi-finalist and 1 Honorable Mention.
The Fell We Climb ended its film festival run in 2023, after being selected for BAFTA and OSCAR qualifying festivals; Manchester Animation Festival, Brighton Animation Festival and Cardiff Animation Festival, where it ran side by side with short films made by some of the best in the business including legendary British animation studio, Aardman. It was also screened as part of a Filmmakers Showcase at Pinewood Studios with both Director Lou and Mentor Joe in attendance.
The Crowdfunder
Watch the powerful Crowdfunder campaign we launched in 2022 presented by our Exec Producer, TV Presenter and host of Cbeebies, The Baby Club, Nigel Clarke.
BFI National Archive
To wrap up the film’s journey, in 2024 we were approached by the British Film Institute who had selected the film to be a part of the BFI’s National Archive – joining 130 years of British film history.
The film’s success is a testament to its powerful storytelling, artistic vision, and the dedication of the young people and mentors involved in its creation.
BASED ON LIVED EXPERIENCES
Animated Futures was born in 2020, when Anti Racist Cumbria teamed up with +3K Animation Studios to deliver a series of workshops for young Black and Brown people to learn animation and explore culture and identity. The passion and commitment from the youngsters to create an anti-racist future was clear to all. Working closely for two years with +3K Animation and the youth mentor team at Anti Racist Cumbria, and the project organically grew to become as epic as they are.
A FILM TO INSPIRE AN ANTI-RACIST FUTURE
We follow Hamira, a young Cumbrian girl as she navigates her way through racism in its many forms and what inspires her to share her story and how she strives for positive change. We hope this film will not only inspire young people across the world to celebrate their differences but motivate even the coldest of hearts to become actively anti-racist.
To support and encourage anti-racism across the county, Anti Racist Cumbria developed the film into a free lesson plan open to all Cumbrian schools. They have delivered the accompanying bespoke training to 70 schools and the films been seen by +3000 pupils in Cumbria so far, with more to come in 2025!
INTERNATIONAL AWARD WINNER
