Animating the Future

Non Axebo

Animating the Future

funded by the British Academy

Children & young people constitute the largest demographics of many forest-dwelling societies in Amazonia and beyond. They will play a key role in defining the futures of these groups in times of radical uncertainty. And yet, research addressing the voices and perspectives of children and young people in Amazonians through youth- centred methods remains limited and their role of future-makers is under-examined.

Animating the Future is a research project that explores the life- trajectories of migrant youth in different regions of Amazonian Peru. We use co-production of animated films as a participatory methodology to explore and amplify youth voices that so far remain unheard. Young people are learning to produce animation from start to finish. They are using it to tell their own stories about Indigenous heritage, the challenges of transitioning from forest to urban settings, and their visions of a just and inclusive future.

Watch the Films

The project is funded by a British Academy Youth Futures Grant and based at the University of Bristol. The research is led by Dr Camilla Morelli and the animation production is directed by Sophie Marsh (Bristol), in collaboration with the following team:

The Team

The project is funded by a British Academy Youth Futures Grant and based at the University of Bristol.

Dr Camilla Morelli

Dr Camilla Morelli is a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Bristol. She is the project's Principal Investigator, leading the team and all research activities.

Sophie Marsh

Sophie Marsh is an Animation Director based in Bristol. She is the project's Creative Director and main animator, leading the animation workshops and overseeing all the creative outputs.

Professor Patricia Ames

Professor Patricia Ames is a social anthropologist at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima. She has done extensive research with children and young people in Indigenous marginalised communities, focussing on issues of education, learning, social inclusion and gender (in)equality. She is the co-lead of the project and has led all research and impact activities in Peru.

Professor Pilar Valenzuela

Professor Pilar Valenzuela is a Professor of Linguistics at Chapman University, USA. She is interested in language contact & change, Indigenous South American languages, Peruvian Amazonian Spanish, and anthropological linguistics. She has published books and articles on the languages of the Pano and Kawapana families, focussing on synchronic & diachronic syntax, historical linguistics, ethnobiological taxonomy, language contact, and testimonies of Shipibo women.

Guillermo Pëmen Nëcca Manquid

Guillermo Pëmen Nëcca Manquid is a professional artist and illustrator. He grew up as a forest dweller deep in the Amazon rainforest. While learning how to hunt and forage, he also developed a passion for painting from his childhood. He didn’t have pencils or watercolours, so he used old pieces of paper and soil and berries to colour. He now works as a professional illustrator for the Ministry of Education, and is a key collaborator in Animating the Future.

Rous Condori

Rous Condori is an Indigenous animator based in Peru. She is working at Animating the Future to teach young people how to produce animated films, delivering animation workshops in Amazonian cities and forest communities.

Darwin Linares García

Darwin Linares García is a Shipibo artist and painter. He illustrated two of the main animations produced in Animating the Future, bringing into life his distinctive Shipibo style and Ayahuasca visions.

Cali Nunta

Cali Nunta is a Shipibo journalist, radio presenter and fashion model. She is working at Animating the Future as a research assistant and animation co-producer.

Dennis Inuma

Dennis Inuma is a Shipibo artist and fashion designer. His designs merge traditional Shipibo kené (pattern styles) with haute- couture contemporary glamour. He is bringing the art of his ancestors into a future where Shipibo art will thrive. His dream is to one day see his own designs on a fashion runway in Paris.

Roldán Dunú Tumi Dësi

Roldán Dunú Tumi Dësi is a Matses Indigenous anthropologist. He is the first Matses to graduate in anthropology. He is working at Animating the Future as a key research collaborator. He recently published his thesis on frog poison rituals in Matses society. His dream is to obtain a doctorate in anthropology and publish a book on Matses culture.

Almendra Ivette Aguilar Aguirre

Almendra Ivette Aguilar Aguirre is an anthropologist specialized in issues of intercultural education, identity and culture in Amazonia. She conducts academic research and development projects with key stakeholders in the region, including the Chaikuni Institute and Indigenous student association OEPIAP. She is working at an Animating the Future, as a research associate and impact coordinator, feeding the outputs to key policymakers to integrate youth voices in their decisions and policy action.

Cindy Jimenez

Cindy Jimenez is a Matses young woman and mother. She grew up in a community built deep in the Amazon rainforest, learning to take part in her household economy from a young age. She has been working with some of the Waves of Change team for many years. Her dream is to open her own boutique fashion store, and to go on holiday to Miami.