To mark International Women’s Day 2018, Strange Beast director Anna Ginsburg surveys the evolution of the female form and its perceptions over the last 30,000 years.

From Strange Beast: “Commissioned by CNN to launch their global series on beauty, the film is an examination of the changing (but never ending) pressures on women to conform to body shape ideals.

“The animation begins in 28,000 BC, morphing between sculptures of Fertility Goddesses through ancient Egyptian views of perception and then through the ages; The Bronze Age, Ancient Greek, the Renaissance and beyond.

“The shapes are constantly shrinking and stretching, As the modern era is reached, the female body is seen through technology, becoming painfully and dangerously distorted.

“The film ends with a message to reject the unattainable, often impossible and dangerous ideals imposed on women.”
 

Client: CNN
Producer: Sarah-Grace Mankarious

Production: Strange Beast
Director/animator: Anna Ginsburg
Animation: Toby Mortimer, George Wheeler, Hannah Lou-Walker, Caitlin McCarthy, Setareh Seto, Matt Lloyd, Sacha Beeley, Juliette Temple.

Music: Father
Voice: Kayla Meikle