From Vision to Screen: How Burans’ Story Came to Life Through Creative Collaboration

Oct 18, 2024

From Vision to Screen: How Burans’ Story Came to Life Through Creative Collaboration

This blog delves into an Ember-style creative storytelling project, in partnership with a local creative studio, which tells the story of our Ember Partner Innovator, Burans, a community-based mental health initiative based in India, through a short animated video.

You can watch the video in English and Hindi.

The Burans-Ember Partnership

Ember partners with community-based mental health initiatives working in low-income settings, yet each innovator's journey with us is distinct. Tailored to their unique contexts and journeys, we co-create tailored packages of support for innovators, across areas such as fundraising, communications, and impact evaluation, to tackle their immediate challenges while also laying a solid foundation to empower them for long-term resilience and sustainability.

Burans, based in Uttarakhand, North India, is committed to improving mental health and resilience in disadvantaged communities by harnessing local strengths and resources. Their work involves collaborating with community volunteers, healthcare workers, traditional healers, and local government to develop innovative programmes that address the mental health care gap in the region.

During Burans' partnership with Ember, we discussed a few key challenges that cut across the areas of impact, communications, and fundraising:

  • Creative: Burans had a range of assets focused on specific programmes, but there was no singular creative piece that encapsulated the organisation’s overall story.
  • Impact: The team had vast experience in publishing academic research, but there was a need for a more accessible format to communicate the collective impact of their programmes to a wider audience.
  • Sustainability: To expand their work, Burans needed a strong pitch to attract both national and global funders.

The areas of work at Ember often overlap, and the various teams work in tandem to understand the best output that suits the needs of the innovator. In this case, our teams across impact, creative, and fundraising came together along with Burans team with a goal in mind — to identify a medium that authentically portrays the unique vision and grassroots impact of Burans, providing a visual narrative that resonated with both international funders and local communities.

After discussions and brainstorming sessions, both Ember and Burans enthusiastically agreed that an animated film would best capture their journey, people, and impact.

Partnership with Local India-based Creative Collaborator

A cornerstone of Ember’s partnership philosophy is that the knowledge to solve challenges lies within the community itself. Members of the community best understand their needs and context. This is key when telling the story of a community. For a creative piece to resonate with the local and global audience, it is important to incorporate textual nuances, local art forms, and music that truly depict the story of that community.

In line with this belief, we partnered with Choorma Studios, a creative agency based in New Delhi, India, that could understand Burans’ sociocultural context and collaborate in their local language. Their openness to new ideas, empathetic and sensitive approach, and ability to build a relationship of trust with the Burans team were evident not only in the final film but throughout the entire creative process.

Co-Creation in Action: Embracing a Participatory Approach

The project was a collaborative effort between the teams from Burans, Choorma Studios, and Ember. Decision-making was driven by meaningful conversations, facilitated through multiple platforms—one-on-one interviews, WhatsApp groups for continuous feedback, and email exchanges. A dedicated WhatsApp group allowed ideas, scripts, and character sketches to be co-created and refined in real time. The script and character designs were approved by community leaders over Zoom for their input, ensuring the process remained iterative and inclusive.

Behind-the-scenes of Choorma team working on creating characters and scripts


The final product is a film produced using 2D paper stop-motion animation, showcasing the picturesque villages of Uttarakhand while addressing the cultural and social challenges related to mental health. This unique approach provided a textured and engaging narrative that made a sensitive topic more accessible and relatable.

We also decided to create a Hindi version of the film, adapting phrases and expressions to better match the local dialect and nuances. This ensured the film was accessible and relatable for the Burans team and the communities they engage with.

Creative storytelling serves as a powerful way to showcase the expertise and impact of grassroots organisations, providing a personal touch and transcending language barriers to engage a global audience. Such tools empower these initiatives to effectively share their narratives, opening up new opportunities for recognition and support.

This project exemplifies how creative collaboration rooted in local knowledge can amplify the impact of community-based mental health initiatives. It was showcased as part of Burans' 10-year anniversary celebration, marking a milestone in their journey to improving mental health and well-being in Uttarakhand.

The Burans team celebrating 10 years of impact


Learn more about Burans and their work.

This behind-the-scenes blog by the Choorma team captures the entire process.