Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre launches a new campaign by students, for students
Alexanne Desrosiers and Jesse Santerre’s videos stood out for their creative take on the subject matter.
A mating dance not reciprocated, a toucan that gets too touchy and a flamingo in distress. These are three scenes in a new animated campaign meant to raise awareness on sexual violence and the resources offered by Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC).
Created by Alexanne Desrosiers (BFA 19) and Jesse Santerre (BFA 19), recent graduates of Concordia’s Film Animation program, the video series sheds light on the themes of consent, bystander intervention and supporting survivors of sexual violence.
Ingenuity and clear messaging
“The idea behind the animations was to create a campaign for students, by students, that will provide an entry point to more serious conversations around sexual violence,” explains Jennifer Drummond, SARC manager.
The selection committee — made up of Drummond, Luigi Allemano, associate professor of film animation, and representatives from University Communications Services — received five proposals. The committee showed these to a series of focus groups with students to get feedback, and then narrowed the field down to two finalists.
In the end, the proposal by Desrosiers and Santerre stood out for its creative take on the subject matter and aesthetic beauty.
“We were impressed by the ingenuity, clear messaging and respect of the subject that Alexanne and Jesse brought to the project,” Drummond says.
A balance between playful, clear and respectful
The idea of using birds to represent situations of sexual violence came to the creators after watching the BBC One documentary Planet Earth.
“I was fascinated by the sections on birds,” Santerre says. “Their rituals are quite complex and it occurred to me that this could be a good metaphor for the campaign.”
The filmmakers had to find a balance between being playful, clear and respectful.
“There were a lot of elements to consider and we adjusted as we went along based on the feedback we received from Jennifer Drummond,” Desrosiers explains. “Having an experienced subject matter expert weighing in throughout the process really helped.”
Find out more about Concordia’s Sexual Assault Resource Centre 2020 campaign.
