A Charity Evening for Baldies
Last Friday, the premiere of the pilot episode of Baldies - Plešouni by Eliška Soffer Podzimek took place in Prague. Baldies is the world’s first animated series created specifically for children undergoing cancer treatment and their parents.
“Slavnostní Pleš“ was a truly exceptional and deeply moving event that brought together so many extraordinary people - those who have devoted years of their lives to this subject, as well as those for whom helping children and families affected by cancer has become a life’s mission.
The main goal of the pilot episode was to explain, clearly and sensitively, what is happening inside a child’s body: why their hair falls out, what cancer cells are and why they multiply, what chemotherapy does to the body, what side effects are, and what can help them through treatment. At the same time, we wanted to show just how important the support of family, loved ones and friends can be during the most difficult moments.
Bringing such a sensitive and unique project to life required an enormous amount of work, research, care and dedication.
I had the honour of working on the project as Animation Director and Editor - an enormous challenge, but also an incredibly valuable experience. I would therefore like to thank from the bottom of my heart all the colleagues without whom this project would never have been possible: producers Jiří Sádek and Jindřich Trčka; the team at BareBear Production Studio, especially Radovan Surý and Marcel Legindi; storyboard artist Viktor Svoboda and visual artist Honza Chlup; screenwriter Steen Agro; dramaturg Monika Hasan; animators Pavel Ondrašik, Pavel Jindra, Martin Špavelko, Michaela Večerková, Martin Máj and Saška Májová; sound designers Jakub Johanek and Jan Rádr; composer and musician Marek Doubrava; production team Martina Veltruská and Alice Muziková; and the many, many others whose sensitivity, dedication and fantastic work made this possible. Without you, accomplishing what we set out to do would have been incredibly difficult, if not impossible.
And my greatest thanks go to Eliška Soffer Podzimek. Not only for creating this animated film, but for her heart, and for all the love and soul she poured into the project. The world would be a more beautiful place with more people – and more projects – like this.
Thank you! 💛
Discover more about Baldies and the story behind the project: baldies.eu
