Film commissioned by The Guardian
A series of animated documentaries, made for The Guardian and in collaboration with Sherbet animation studio, were directed by BA Animation Program Leader, Jonathan Hodgson. MDX students who worked as Animation Assistants on the films, included Rebecca Balint, Harriet Titlow, Stuart Beer and Hakim Ismail.
End The Death Penalty was a film made for the Amnesty International' death penalty campaign of 2012. The team of animators at Sherbet told the extraordinary story of Mohammad Mostafaei, a lawyer who saved 20 of the 40 juveniles he had defended from execution in Iran. Voiced by Paul Bettany.
Guantanamo Bay: The Hunger Strikes was a short animated film which revealed the daily brutality of life inside Guantánamo Bay prison. It was made using testimony from Shaker Aamer and four other detainees. Voiced by Peter Capaldi and David Morrissey.
Harriet Titlow commented on her experience working on The Hunger Strikes:
“Producing an animation is an involved process, it’s like being an actor, so I had to try and put myself in their shoes and think how they felt when producing the animations. The piece might be seen as shocking, but I’m happy with it and think it is memorable. I didn’t know much about the cause before, so I hope the film raises the awareness of the issues.”