Conversation held on June 24, 2025, in Montigny, Normandy, with Yann Bonnin: writer-director, animator, and head of animation for the Green Tales project. Published in three parts.

Interview conducted by Imane Tamli, multilingual writer and creative contributor at Panodyssey.

Green Tales is a European educational project that gives children a new way to talk about the environment, not through big speeches, but with their hands, their drawings, and their ideas. Through stop-motion short films and creative slideshows, they explore the four elements of nature: water, air, fire, and earth. Each child tells the story of the world as they feel it, in their own unique voice.

Since the very beginning, Yann Bonnin has been part of these workshops. He’s an artist and filmmaker specializing in animation—and above all, someone passionate about sharing his craft. In this conversation, he reflects on his journey, what he’s learned from working with kids, and how it’s reshaped the way he creates.

Composite image from the series: The Shadoks and the Big Blank – Directed by Jacques Rouxel and Laurent Bounoure. Produced by: AAA Productions, Canal+, INA – © 1999, All rights reserved.

Why did you join the GREEN TALES project? What drew you to it?

Like many things in life, it all started with a chance encounter, a bit of boldness, and a sprinkle of luck. I met Marianne Poncelet, the Vice President of the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, during one of their events. I had been hired to film the evening’s concert and edit the footage afterward.

When I briefly introduced myself, I made sure to mention that my main field was animation, and that immediately sparked something. Marianne lit up and told me that outside of her work at the foundation, she also writes children’s stories. One of her dreams, she said, was to someday turn one of them into an animated film. Funny how life works sometimes, isn’t it?

A few months later, in 2020, while the world had come to a standstill during lockdown, Marianne reached out to ask for my opinion: “I’ve written a story,” she said, “I’ve got the illustrations and a voice recording too… do you think we could turn it into something?”

I told her, “Of course, let’s give it a try. With all that, we could at least build a solid animatic, maybe even a pilot.”

So I headed over to the foundation to meet with her and gather the materials. Not long after, La Couleur Verte was born, the very first film in what would become the Green Tales project.

From there, we began shaping the idea into something more structured, so Marianne could look for partners and build a broader vision for this educational animated series. And in 2023, she gave me the news: Green Tales was officially set to launch in 2024.

Marianne is like a fairy godmother, she has a gift for turning ideas into reality. For artists like us, people like her are incredibly valuable. And I say that knowing she probably feels the same way about us, the artists. That mutual respect and generosity is what gives our work together such a special energy. You can feel it in the final result.

And let’s not forget her amazing team either. Sure, being in the spotlight can be gratifying, but it’s important to stay grounded and always acknowledge the invisible hands behind the scenes. The ones without whom none of this would be possible. That’s absolutely essential.

It’s the truth, this project was born out of the constraints of lockdown, in the middle of the COVID pandemic. It started spontaneously, with whatever resources we had, in a kind of creative survival mode. And little by little, the momentum grew. The energy multiplied. Today, it’s become a collective adventure that just keeps expanding.

How would you describe GREEN TALES to someone who’s never heard of it?

Green Tales is a European educational project that introduces stop-motion animation as a creative tool for kids, and teens too. The idea is to help them use animated images to express how they feel about environmental issues.

We work directly in schools, alongside local teachers and artists, guiding students through the full process of making short animated films, from writing the script to illustrating, building the sets, puppets, and props, animating the scenes, and editing the final video. They also record their own voices and create the soundtrack for their films.

It’s a hands-on, low-tech kind of project. We use smartphones, simple apps, cut-out paper, everyday objects, even people, through pixilation. Everything is designed so that teachers can eventually run the workshops independently with their students. The goal isn’t to pull kids away from screens, but to show them that those screens can be powerful creative tools. What used to require expensive, professional equipment is now within reach. They can create animation at home, at school, with friends, and share their films online.

Some animation festivals have even added new categories to highlight and reward these DIY-style creations.

Each school works with one of the four classical elements: water, air, fire, or earth. The students come up with a story in which their assigned element is either personified or represented symbolically. Air is especially tricky, since it’s invisible, they need to get creative. In the end, each school’s film becomes a chapter in a larger collective story.

To connect the different stories and give them a shared thread, we came up with a curious little character, a kind of naïve alien explorer. We named him GT (pronounced “Gi-Ti”), short for Green Tales. He travels from one country to another, trying to understand how our world works.

At its core, the project aims to make animation more accessible, to pass on both artistic and digital skills, and to raise environmental awareness in a playful way. And because there’s strength in collaboration, Green Tales encourages intercultural exchange. For instance, Turkey and Iceland work as a pair: one country creates the storyline, the other brings it to life with visuals and sound, and then they switch roles!

In short, Green Tales is about building cultural bridges that blend education, creativity, and environmental values.

2018 - Presentation by Stéphanie Coerten of Maya Yonesho's workshop at ANima. - Photo credit © Gilles Moins for the ANima Festival in Brussels

The day before screening the film representing a whole week of work with young people, Maya found herself without music for her final edit.

She was completely panicked and asked me to help her. Since it's impossible to say no to Maya, we went to my place.

There, I played her some music I had composed for my own personal use. She liked one of them, and I adapted it for her film.

Of course, there was no question of signing any contract for the rights. The usual small mention in the credits, and that's it.

Maya still wanted to invite me to a restaurant. Fine! But for me, Maya's eternal gratitude is worth much more than money.

This girl is a truly generous and amazing artist!

You work with other artists and with children, what does that bring to your work?

Working alongside children, teachers, and local artists is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. The word “animation” comes from the Latin animare, which means “to give life” or “to give a soul”, not just “to make things move.” To help the kids really understand that essential principle, I often ask them to act out a movement before animating it. And that’s when the fun really begins. They watch this tall grown-up acting goofy, miming emotions, pretending to be an elephant or a bouncing ball… and of course, they laugh! That shared laughter breaks the ice, and suddenly we’re all on the same page.

What really touches me is how easily children throw themselves into the process. Their excitement is contagious. They cut, draw, animate, all with this raw, visible joy. The classroom energy is festive, yet focused. They help each other, and through animation, they begin to understand how time works: you can’t rush the result, you have to create, build, and then bring it to life, step by step.

It’s a long process for them at first, but then comes that magic moment, when they see their character move for the very first time.

And then it’s my turn to watch them, and that’s when the magic hits me.

Seeing that spark in their eyes, knowing I’ve done my part, that’s my real paycheck. For us artists, when we present a film at a festival, it’s the audience award we cherish the most. It’s the same thing here. Watching the kids in action brings me right back to the child I was, and still am, really. Maybe animation keeps you young. Maybe that wild dream I had as a kid, to make cartoons, wasn’t so crazy after all. This idea of passing things on really means a lot to me. It truly does.

At 59, what I enjoy most is sharing what I’ve learned, what others once passed down to me, and offering it back, enriched. I don’t shy away from the word transmitter or bridge. Making animation accessible, alive, and tangible. Helping children realise they hold a creative superpower in their hands. Honestly, that’s the most rewarding part of all.

2018 - ANima workshop with Le Cactus, a pin screen made by Alexandre Noyer,

on which I welcomed Peter Lord as a beginner to this discipline... Who would have believed it?

(photo credit © Yann Bonnin)

To explore the other parts of this conversation, head over to the Creative Room Green Tales.

Curious to learn more about this European project? Check out the official Green Tales website.

And don’t miss the article: Creative Escape in the Pays de Caux 🍏 Part I and Part II.

And since Yann is also a musician, he shared this track where he plays the guitar part: "Mystery Train" (with Wilfrid Devaux).