Jarli – Reach for the Stars

Project Overview

It's not every day you get to work on projects that lift you higher, but that's exactly what happened when the House of Kitch invited us to create social media assets for Jarli, an award-winning short film to inspire Indigenous school children to reach for the stars.

The Challenge

Australia's sovereign space ambitions require developing a workforce with necessary STEM skills. With the space industry projected to triple in size by 2030, engaging school children—particularly Indigenous youth—and encouraging them to study STEM needs to start now.

Our Solution

Together we created digital content assets for Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for the launch of this beautiful animated film. Jarli is a proud Aboriginal girl with a knack for building things, especially things that fly.

The Film

Created by the Royal Australian Air Force and UTS_ALA to inspire kids to study STEM subjects and perhaps one day join the RAAF, Jarli weaves visual and oral story elements to explore the dream of flight, indigenous astronomy, and the future of our planet and its people.

The Creative Team

A talented team of Indigenous creatives included:

• Co-director: Chantelle Murray
• Writers: Jonathan Bell & Andrew Dillon
• Voice actors: Madeleine Madden, Wayne Blair, Mark Coles Smith and Rahmah Bin Buyong

Our Contribution

Marzipan created a range of social media assets for the film's release, including:

• Animated GIFs
• Interactive AR backgrounds for Instagram
• Social media tiles
• Campaign strategy and creative direction

Results & Impact

Jarli premiered at the Sydney Film Festival and was pre-screened to Aboriginal children from the Katherine community in outback Northern Territory on RAAF Base Tindal. The film later hitched a ride to the International Space Station on the NASA SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-24 mission during National Science Week 2022.

Chief Defence Scientist, Professor Tanya Monro AC, noted that Jarli struck a chord because of her resilience, creativity and ingenuity—qualities the next generation of Australians need to harness to achieve extraordinary things.

Personal Connection

Project timing coincided with Marzipan cofounder Ben Adams' experience fostering two young aboriginal children who had faced significant challenges. These kids, despite their experiences, still saw joy and wonder in the world. They loved watching Jarli and enjoyed our social media games, assets and creative made for the film.

Conclusion

Projects born out of love, such as this one, help pave the way toward closing the gap and inspiring the next generation of Indigenous innovators and space explorers.