Born Free
The Bitter Bond
The story of a lion keeper and her cub that changed tourism in South Africa.
D&AD, Wood Pencil | Creative Circle, Silver x3 & Bronze x3 | British Arrows, Silver & Bronze | Vimeo Staff Pick | Webby Winner, 2020 | Cresta Awards, Gold & Silver | Creative Review Annual 2020 | British Arrows 2020, Shortlist x5 | Charity Film Awards, Gold | Eurobest, Bronze | Campaign Big Awards, Finalist
The film has been a huge success for Born Free. At the time of writing, it’s gathered over 14 million views on social media, 300,000 shares and over 275,000 petition signatures without any media spend. Along the way, it’s been retweeted by a host of global celebs and influencers, including Ellen DeGeneres, Ricky Gervais, Bryan Adams and Stephen Fry.
To make the film, the sets were all built for real. Then we shot the sets in camera and animated the characters within them. This gave the film a unique, hand-crafted look. The lion feels fuzzy, almost like a child’s toy. This acts to disarm the audience so you feel like you’re watching a sweet story about a lion and his best friend, which makes the tragedy even more compelling.
