Positive Parenting Fables, the animated short films with a modern twist on the classic fable, have won several awards from the Southern Shorts Awards. The short, which comprises a series of seven brief fables, is the result of a collaboration funded by the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts & Wellness Innovation Awards. This grant awards two recipients $25,000 a year, and one of the 2018 winners being the Positive Parenting Fables team.
Positive Parenting Fables was created with the aim of teaching tenets of positive parenting for an infant’s first year of life. Drawing on the research of UCF’s Understanding Children and Families Lab, the team of faculty and students adapted the CDC’s points of advice for new parents and caregivers into memorable, animated stories. The short film is available in three different languages: English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, which are the three most spoken home languages in Florida.
Cheryl Briggs, Associate Professor, has been teaching all aspects of animation production in the School of Visual Arts and Design since 2009. This month, Briggs received massive recognition from the Southern Shorts Awards, a seasonal competition that recognizes filmmakers whose short films demonstrate their ability to produce well-crafted motion pictures. At the end of each season, they screen the top three films of each genre at a one-day festival held at the Aurora Cineplex in Roswell, Georgia.
Watch every version of the short here.
Positive Parenting Fables has been honored with an Award of Merit and placed as one of the top 3 scoring films in the Animation genre, meaning it will be featured at the Winter Season Film Screening on February 15th. It is receiving an additional award from the top 3, ranging from Winter 2020 Animation Award of Merit, Award of Excellence, or it may be the highest-scoring film, winning the Best Animation of Winter 2020.
The purpose of the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts & Wellness Innovation Awards is to build sustainable models for arts and wellness innovation both across the community and campus[.] Interdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based community impact will be recognized as guides for building sustainability. In partnership with the College of Arts and Humanities, this grant is awarded yearly to UCF faculty or staff member, cross-disciplinary teams.
Watch the animated short Positive Parenting Fables and learn more about the Pabst Steinmetz Foundation Arts & Wellness Innovation Awards.