CHENNAI: Suresh Eriyat’s six-minute stop-motion animation film ‘Desi Oon,’ an animated film, won the jury award for commissioned film at the Annecy International Animation Festival 2025 held in France. Annecy Festival is considered the Oscars of animation.Desi Oon was the only Indian film to be selected from among 3,900 entries from 100 countries. The film was commissioned by Centre for Pastoralism (CfP) to help create awareness on Indian wool.“Oon means wool, and Desi Oon means the kind of wool extracted from Deccani Deccani black sheep, which can be found mostly in Karnataka and southern Maharashtra, besides Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh,” says Suresh, whose Studio Eeksaurus has created the film. “We’ve used only wool puppets throughout the film, so it’s the wool which speaks for itself. However, working with the material and animating it was a challenge which took us a year.”Supported by Samagata Foundation, the film has been narrated by lyricist Swanand Kirkire, features music by Rajat Dholakia and sound design by Resul Pookutty. “It’s also a tribute to the shepherds who conserve the wool, presented through a character, shepherd Balumama, and the sustainable pastoralism that he practised. Actual folk music of shepherds has been used for the film.” The film launched at the Deccan edition of the Living Lightly exhibition in Bengaluru in February 2025 and is available for viewing for free on YouTube. “The screening was a multi-sensory experience, and we included different smells of sheep during the viewing. It will now travel through the country for screenings”“We hope the film will start conversations on the neglect Deccani wool has suffered for generations and the plight of the shepherds. They have been ignored and discarded in favour of acrylics and imported wools. Once a sacred bond between humans, animals and nature, wool now stands forgotten in the wake of urbanisation and industrial change,” says Suresh. CfP, based in New Delhi, works across the country to enhance demand for indigenous wool, which, according to them, has enormous potential in the production of textiles, for use in acoustics, thermal insulation, for packaging and as biofertilizer.