Invisible Friend

Where almost no one sees, UNICEF has been for 75 years.

To mark UNICEF's 75 years in Brazil, Unicefito was born: a cyan-blue character — the organisation's registered colour — giving a body to a presence almost nobody sees. The film follows a girl through an ordinary day: the classroom, the health clinic, the schoolyard. In every scene there is a Unicefito nearby, holding something in place.

The film

The reveal

In the end the invisible friends are revealed: they are the UNICEF people who were there all along. Same scene, same framing, same light — only now you can see them.

Handmade

The finish is stop-motion: crochet, knit and felt in every garment, every cloud painted on the school wall. Before animating, the characters were locked into model sheets — front, profile and back — so the girl and Unicefito could cross the whole film without changing face.

Credits

Agency

Africa Creative

Directed by

Ferrari e Passaro

Animation direction

Paulo Passaro

Audio

Antfood