The Bonzoms

Jack Charlot, a graphic artist at the Bonzoms studio, discusses Baby in the Sky, the film he made for Born HIV Free, broadcasted on the dedicated YouTube campaign channel

‘From the very first meetings, we sow documents backed up by figures. We found ourselves dealing with people who saw this as a grave, intense, serious issue. It wasn’t just for show, as is sometimes the case with commissions for humanitarian films. Their comments weren’t based on personal preferences or ego; they were about getting a core message across.

They wanted a metaphoric, dreamlike film, not an angst-ridden one. A film which no longer played on guilty feelings to get people to donate, but rather promoted a sense of sharing and motivation. In the case of HIV transmission from mother to child, the drugs are there… the problem is simply mobilisation…

Jack Charlot’s portrait by the Bonzoms

This film is aimed at thirty-somethings in the West. Having a limited number of partners to deal with meant we enjoyed a great deal of artistic freedom. A screenwriter who helped with the storyboarding suggested the idea of an imaginary journey. We didn’t try to work out the symbolic meaning of the various film sets at the time, but in the end we realised that they were open to a range of interpretations. You could see them as the various rites of passage marking out a life, from a baby’s first steps to the serenity that accompanies the final stages, but there was nothing conscious about it. Similarly, we didn’t want to overload the film with too many graphic references. We wanted something universal — creative without being elitist. A colourful, spirited little thing, like a pop song evoking a happy memory. It’s an artistic creation, designed to attract attention and generate reactions and will hopefully leave people wanting to find out more…’