I, Abhimanyu Gupta, am a third-year media arts student. Throughout my degree I have constantly made efforts to explore the importance of visual storytelling. As a part of my major project, I developed the idea of “Wings”, an animated short film that takes the viewer through a variety of emotions and sentiments while conveying a strong social message of ‘disability inclusion’. The film revolves around a child who aspires to be an Air force pilot, fighting the obstacles in her way, but when she is on the verge of losing hope, her mom encourages her to discover her true potential.

The animation encourages disabled children to dream big and never lose hope, and the society, especially their parents, to keep supporting them in this journey, promoting the idea of a more inclusive world. As the narrative revolves around a sensitive topic, it was vital to consider the ethical accuracy of any such portrayal.

During the research and development of this project, I realized how films can strongly affect our thinking process and feelings in the long run, hence are a medium to create strong social impact among various target audiences simultaneously. I, as an animator, want to keep using my art to instill such strong messages in the society.

Watch the animation at www.abhimanyu.com.au