An Animated Short on Women in Democracy | Benny Box - Danish Motion Design Studio.

Financial Times

An Animated Short on Women in Democracy

Client

Financial times

Industry

Journalism

Services

Storytelling
Motion Design
Animation
Illustration

Awards

Gold People's Lovie Winner
Film & Video: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Bronze Lovie Winner
Film & Video: Best Use of Animation Bronze

People's Lovie Winner
Film & Video: Animation

For 2500 years, women have been fighting for their place in our democracies.

We worked with Financial Times to create this animated short film, highlighting the lack of representation of female leaders in democracy.
The project stems from the Financial Times’ initiative to shed light on the challenges modern democracy faces in an era of increasing polarization and growing threats to representative leadership.

The animation takes us through diverse landscapes, revisiting historic moments as women make new strides toward democratic inclusion. Each landscape and character is handcrafted, giving the film a warm, timeless quality that reflects its historical themes while contrasting with the seriousness of the subject matter.

The project in numbers

4,5 mil.

Views across all platforms

200K

Comments

30K

Handcrafted with purpose

Working frame by frame allowed us to hand-draw every background and character with care and precision, giving each scene a presence that carries the weight of its subject.

A single character travels with us across centuries, from the first democratic votes in Athens to the present day, turning moments that might feel distant or abstract into something tangible and personal.

What could have been a timeline of facts instead becomes a journey that is felt as much as it is understood.

The process

Working frame by frame allowed us to build the walk cycle as a central narrative. Instead of creating a single reusable cycle, we continuously adapted the walk to reflect shifts in time, place, and emotional tone.

As the character moves through history, from early democratic moments to the present, the walk subtly evolves, becoming a thread that ties the entire film together.

The process involved exploring timing, weight, and rhythm in detail, ensuring that each step felt grounded in the handcrafted world. Small imperfections were kept intentionally, reinforcing the tactile, human quality of the animation.