Primate
Primate is an in progress film which presents the vicious cycle within the garment industry and wider fast fashion market. Directed by Kieran Turnbull, Patrycja Micek and Niko Salaman, with animation by Bethany Willacy and Phoebe Ryall, the film covers the 
ramifications of the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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It reminds the audience of how little has changed since then to improve the lives of garment workers by the world’s biggest and most financially successful clothing brands. Our film primarily aims to educate by elucidating about the garment industry. Focusing on the relationships and parallels between groups and places within the industry, our short film exposes the systemic nature of those relationships. Furthermore, we aim to show the Rana Plaza incident was not an exception, but just one example of the unfair treatment and conditions present in the industry.
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To do this we are utilising the emotive and representational powers of 
photography and animation. So that Primate is a call to build solidarity amongst garment workers around the world for better pay, human rights and working conditions. No one should die for fashion!
Primate's proposal has been awarded the 2023 gold impact award by Creative Conscience.
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An in progress shot of Primate was screened on Monday 24th April 2023, to mark the ten-year anniversary of the Rana Plaza
collapse, at Toynbee Hall in London.
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The film will be finished for January 2024.
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The in progress snap shot of our film can be watched here.
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TW: Images of death and violence throughout.
From the beginning of our project, we have worked in collaboration with Jay Kerr, head of No Sweat, a not-for-profit organisation, which fights for the well-being and protection of garment workers throughout the world. In addition, Taslima Akhter, an award-winning documentary photographer and head of Bangladesh Garment Workers Solidarity, based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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To put a name to faces, Taslima also gave permission to include the striking imagery she took when she captured the aftermath of the factory’s collapse.
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Both Jay and Taslima have been instrumental in educating us about the history and the injustices of the garment industry and have ensured Primate is an authentic representation of the working conditions many garment workers continue to face today.
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We also worked with Hannan Majid, co-director of Rainbow Collective, a documentary production company, who kindly allowed us access to their extensive archives of sounds which spans over 15 years’ worth of recordings!
Concept Designs
I created character designs of protesters and police in London and Dhaka.
Proposed Visuals
The final animation will have a stitch effect on top of fabric swatches. The stitches themselves will have a 3D effect to them to create added dimension.
Animation
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Here are examples of animated elements I've produced for the film with the added stitch effect.