No Strings Attached: Puppets supporting children throughout the world

Full Frame

Helping children cope with difficult situations rarely comes in the form of entertainment. No Strings International is changing that, incorporating captivating storytelling into innovative workshops that help young people understand and process serious issues affecting their daily lives.

No Strings Attached: Puppets supporting children throughout the world

Helping children cope with difficult situations rarely comes in the form of entertainment. No Strings International is changing that, incorporating captivating storytelling into innovative workshops that help young people understand and process serious issues affecting their daily lives.

After 9/11, Kathy Mullens and Michael Frith, the masterminds behind the Muppets and Fraggle Rock, were determined to help children in Afghanistan understand issues of war that had upturned the world around them.

Their organization, No Strings International, films puppets dealing with issues like HIV, poverty and war.

The short films are presented to children in countries such as Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan in order to help them cope with the aftermath of natural disasters and other dangerous situations – in short, puppet films that dispense some very valuable “lessons for life.”

In this week’s Full Frame Close Up, we dive into this magical world of storytelling and see how some very lovable puppets are guiding children through traumatic events.