“Firsts” Pioneer women leading the way
“Firsts” is an anthological animated series that – based on real events – tells the story, on each episode of one woman from a different time and country who, by following her dreams, becomes the first to accomplish a specific achievement in her field. From arts, to sports, to science and even social movements. Each of these stories are told in a comedic tone, meant for family audiences, and in a documentary-style format, allowing the protagonists, for example, to talk to the camera and give “interviews” in a confessional style to share her ideas and how she feels directly with the audience.
Javi Riesco, founding member of Typpo Creative Lab, co-creator and scriptwriter for “Firsts,” recalls that the main idea for the plot of the series appeared accidentally, in a very casual way, when she discovered the story of Eloísa Díaz, the first female to graduate as a doctor in Latin America. “When I heard her story, I was at the ophthalmologist undergoing a very invasive procedure, so my doctor told me Eloísa’s story to relax me, but she accomplished the opposite, because I could not believe what I was hearing. The unknown woman, up until then, that they were talking about was the first woman to be enrol in the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad de Chile. The same university my mom went to with a scholarship in the 80s! And not only that, Eloísa had opened the door so all Chilean women could access higher education. However, surprisingly, asking around, nobody knew her name,” recalls Risco.
Subsequently, Javi Risco and friends, who would eventually become the co-creators of the idea, together with Bambú Orellana, thought, “If there’s one Eloísa, there are MORE in the continent and, for sure, in the world, TODAY. That’s how we started searching for more stories of unknown women from around the world and gave the project its current form of anthological series.”
“Firsts” is an anthology animated series that, based on real events, tells the story on every episode of one woman from a different time and country who, by following her dreams, becomes the first to accomplish a specific achievement in her field.
After this, everything started coming together to start the production of “Firsts.” In Chile, they won public funds from CNCA and CORFO for the development of the series. Later, they won the CNTV fund for the production in 2019. However, they are still looking for co-producers and/or international distributors who would want to get involved to complete the required budget, therefore they have participated in different pitches.
“One of the most beautiful things that we have experienced by showing or pitching the project to different agents or co-production companies in Latin America and in the world, is that all of them have an anecdote to tell regarding a ‘first’ that they know in their countries or communities. There is something in this that connects us all, as if we all knew a ‘first’ that we admire or remember and that is part of the collective mind,” says Risco.
Parallel to the process of investigation, they have been able to speak with some “firsts.” They remember the most emblematic, Carmen Moral, the first conductor in Latin America, “whose way of telling the story of her life, talking about her dreams is simply one of my life’s greatest privileges. I don’t think I will ever forget how somebody so humble but, at the same time, so sure of herself tells you the story of how she got where she wanted to be. It was impossible that she wouldn’t have made it there,” says Bernardita Ojeda.
Although Typpo is the production house of “Firsts,” the original idea came from collaboratively working with friends and coworkers Michelle Redon, Bárbara Salinas and Catalina Fontecilla. That is what “Firsts” has been from the very beginning, the drive to see women on the screen and to work with women producers. Bernardita Ojeda, director at Pájaro, is a first herself, because she was the first to direct an animated series in Chile.
This is how Typpo worked with Pájaro in the development of the series. They provided originality, beauty and a deep understanding of the concept. Presently, in the stage of post-production, Pájaro is in charge of the art development for “Firsts.”
Information about the production company
Typpo Creative Lab was founded in 2017 by Javi Risco together with her associate Bambú Orellana. Javi was finishing her Master of Arts for series writing in Germany. Bambú had already been working for 10 years developing content for animation.