Post Production

Final Frontier Releases Animated Film "The Guide" for Novartis Directed by Andrea Devia-Nuño

Final Frontier announces the release of The Guide, an animated film directed by Andrea Devia-Nuño for Novartis centered around family history, memory, and cardiovascular health awareness. The film encourages patients with a family history of cardiovascular disease to speak with their doctors about potentially elevated Lp(a) levels through an emotional and cinematic approach to healthcare storytelling.

Following a young woman through fragments of inherited memories and family connections, The Guide unfolds as a poetic journey between past and present. Drawn into a dreamlike world by the voice of her grandmother, she navigates painted forests, glowing family figures, and emotionally charged memories that slowly reveal her family’s hidden cardiovascular history.

At the center of the narrative is her grandfather, whose presence accompanies the film through music and memory until a sudden transition reveals a traumatic moment from the past: his heart attack. The story ultimately returns to the present, where memory transforms into awareness through a conversation with a doctor and the recommendation to test her Lp(a) levels.

Rather than relying on direct medical communication, the film approaches its subject through metaphor, atmosphere, and emotional storytelling. Director Andrea Devia-Nuño embraced a visual language rooted in tactile materials and handcrafted animation techniques to create a world that felt intimate, nostalgic, and emotionally grounded.

“We had to portray emotional ideas, memories, and family connections that felt fragile and deeply human,” says Devia-Nuño. “Working with handmade techniques felt completely natural because of the warmth and expressiveness they inherently carry.”

To support this emotional tone, Final Frontier collaborated with Emmy Award-winning artist Margherita Premuroso, who created the film’s painted paper backgrounds by hand before they were photographed, assembled, and integrated into the animation pipeline.

“Paper is a material almost everybody connects with childhood and memory,” says Premuroso. “It’s something we all used growing up to draw, create, and even build family trees. Bringing that tactile quality into the film added another emotional layer to the story.”

The production intentionally preserved textures, imperfections, brushstrokes, and materiality throughout the film, blending handmade craftsmanship with contemporary animation workflows. The result is a healthcare film that feels cinematic and personal while still delivering a clear and important message.

“Projects like The Guide remind us why we fell in love with animation in the first place,” says Gustavo Karam, Executive Producer at Final Frontier. “In a moment where so much visual communication is becoming faster and increasingly standardized, it feels incredibly rewarding to embrace the harder path and create something through handcrafted processes, frame by frame, with real texture and human imperfection preserved inside the work.”

Karam also highlights the creative collaboration behind the film: “One of the most special parts of this project was assembling this incredible female-driven creative team around Andrea’s vision. Andrea Devia-Nuño brought such emotional sensitivity and cinematic direction to the film, while Margherita Premuroso’s handcrafted artwork became the soul of the visual world. There was a beautiful balance between fragility, artistry, and storytelling throughout the entire process.”

Music also plays a central role throughout The Guide. Produced by DaHouse Audio, the soundtrack features Brazilian musician Gustavo Bertoni: vocalist, guitarist, and lead composer of the band Scalene, reinterpreting Wayfaring Stranger, the traditional American folk and gospel song whose origins date back to the early 19th century.

The song’s themes of mortality, family, perseverance, and the journey toward loved ones mirror the emotional arc of the film with striking precision. Bertoni’s restrained and intimate interpretation transforms the music into something that feels less like a soundtrack and more like a lingering memory guiding the viewer through the narrative.

There is also a personal resonance behind the performance itself. Born with a congenital heart condition, Bertoni first connected with singing through childhood vocal exercises related to his physical development, eventually leading him toward a career in music. That connection gives the reinterpretation an additional emotional weight within the context of the film. The track was also released as a limited vinyl edition.

With The Guide, Final Frontier continues its exploration of animation as a space where art, emotion, design, and storytelling coexist. The project reflects the studio’s ongoing interest in creating visually distinctive work that feels authored, tactile, and emotionally human.