Studio Eeksaurus’ stop-motion film Desi Oon, crafted entirely from Deccani wool, has won at the Manchester Animation Festival, bringing global attention to India’s pastoral heritage. The six-minute film gives wool a voice, honouring shepherd Balumama, highlighting ecological interdependence, and urging recognition of disappearing traditions through powerful narration, music, and collaborative research.
When a small six-minute stop-motion film made entirely of wool receives global recognition, it signals something much larger than an artistic triumph. It marks a moment when tradition, craft, and forgotten stories find a voice on an international stage. This is precisely what happened when Desi Oon, a deeply evocative film created by Studio Eeksaurus, won at the Manchester Animation Festival—one of the world’s leading celebrations of animated storytelling. For a film that speaks through wool, for wool, and about wool, the honour is as symbolic as it is significant.
Desi Oon is an unusual narrator in contemporary cinema. The film allows wool itself to become the storyteller, lending it a voice that echoes with longing, memory, and generational loss. In just six minutes, it captures a history that spans centuries—a story of deep ecological interdependence between humans, animals, and nature that has been frayed by the forces of urbanisation and industrial change. The wool speaks of a time when its value was sacred, when its existence was intertwined with pastoral life and the rhythms of the land. Today, it finds itself forgotten, dismissed as obsolete in a world that privileges synthetic materials and fast production cycles over heritage and sustainability.
The emotional weight of the film comes not only from this narrative voice but from the lives it honours. Desi Oon pays tribute to the revered shepherd Balumama, a spiritual and cultural figure who dedicated his life to nurturing and protecting the Deccani sheep. This indigenous breed, native to the Deccan plateau, is central to the heritage of Indian pastoralism. Its wool, once prized for its durability and warmth, is now undervalued in the face of global market preferences. Yet for communities who have lived with and cared for these sheep for generations, the wool remains a lifeline, both symbolically and economically. Through Balumama’s legacy, the film not only acknowledges this historical relationship but underlines the urgency of preserving it.
For Studio Eeksaurus, the journey of making Desi Oon was as immersive as the story itself. Over the course of a year, the team walked alongside flocks of Deccani sheep, listening to shepherds, absorbing their way of life, and understanding the nuances of a community often overlooked in mainstream narratives. This slow, human-centred research became the foundation of the film’s authenticity. The animation process that followed was equally labour-intensive. Over six months, the studio “shepherded its own flock”—a team of animators and enthusiasts—through a painstaking stop-motion shoot. Every frame was crafted with real Deccani wool, making the material not just a subject of the story but the very substance of the filmmaking process. Each fibre carried its own history, handled with respect by artists who knew they were working with something alive with cultural memory.
Bringing such a textured world to life demanded more than animation expertise. It required voices that could carry emotion without overshadowing simplicity. For this, the creators turned to Swanand Kirkire, whose spoken words lend the wool its poignant inner voice. Kirkire’s narration blends seamlessly with the film’s sensibility—gentle, reflective, and grounded. Complementing this is the music by Rajat Dholakia, which infuses the narrative with a sense of continuity and rootedness, evoking landscapes and lives shaped by the pastoral rhythm. The soundscape, crafted by Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty, adds depth and atmosphere, turning the wool’s monologue into an immersive experience. Pookutty’s signature touch captures both silence and movement, allowing the audience to feel the earth, the wind, and the hum of pastoral life through sound alone.
The film is also the product of deep collaboration with organisations committed to preserving pastoral traditions. Living Lightly, the Centre for Pastoralism, and the Samagata Foundation played vital roles in supporting the project, contributing knowledge, resources, and advocacy. Their participation underscores the film’s message: that sustaining pastoral livelihoods is not merely a cultural issue but a pressing ecological and economic one. Pastoral communities play a key role in biodiversity, soil health, and sustainable grazing practices. Their resilience is tied to the resilience of environments that have thrived on balance rather than exploitation. Through Desi Oon, these organisations reaffirm their dedication to amplifying the stories and struggles of these communities.
Winning at the Manchester Animation Festival places Desi Oon in the company of some of the most respected voices in global animation. The recognition is not just an award; it is validation of a creative vision that dared to choose slowness over spectacle, craft over technology, and authenticity over generic narratives. It signals that audiences and juries across the world are open to stories rooted in specificity—stories that challenge the dominance of polished digital aesthetics by bringing artisanal materials and traditional forms of storytelling into mainstream conversation. For Indian animation, often constrained by commercial expectations, this achievement demonstrates the power of experimentation and cultural storytelling.
Behind the film is Suresh Eriyat, who co-founded Studio Eeksaurus in 2009 with Nilima Eriyat. Over the years, the studio has built a strong reputation for bringing design thinking and creative innovation to advertising, short films, and feature development. Known for their distinctive visual style and narrative integrity, the Eeksaurus team has consistently pushed the boundaries of what Indian animation can be. With Desi Oon, they reaffirm their commitment to creating work that is not just visually compelling but also socially conscious. The film exemplifies their belief that animation is not merely a genre for entertainment but a medium capable of deep emotion, cultural documentation, and advocacy.
What makes Desi Oon resonate so deeply is its subtle insistence on empathy. It asks viewers to pause, listen, and rediscover a world that is slipping away quietly. It reminds audiences that sustainability is not an abstract concept but a lived reality for communities whose livelihoods shape and protect ecosystems. It urges us to acknowledge the value of indigenous breeds, traditional knowledge, and the fragile bonds that connect human lives to animal lives. In an age where environmental conversations are often dominated by statistics and policy debates, the film’s emotional simplicity cuts through the noise.
“Let’s listen. Let’s remember. Let’s act.” The closing call of the creators is both an invitation and a warning. Watching the film is only the beginning. Sharing it, speaking about it, and supporting the communities it represents are steps toward preserving a vanishing way of life. As Desi Oon continues to find audiences around the world, its impact grows—not just as an artistic achievement but as a catalyst for awareness.
In a world racing toward the future, Desi Oon gently reminds us that progress does not have to leave our stories behind. Sometimes, the quietest voices carry the most enduring truths.
