After a record-breaking submissions period, the Fredrikstad Animation Festival has announced the competition program selections for its Nordic-Baltic animated short film program. The 2021 edition of Norway’s leading animation celebration will be held October 21-24 in the historic city.
The pre-selection jury — which consisted of festival director Anders Narverud Moen, animator and filmmaker Eirin Handegaard and journalist and critic Oda Bhar — had a difficult task in selecting the best films from a bumper crop of entries. As many as 73 films will be shown in the four competition programs for short films, student films, commissioned films and children’s films. The films represent most animation techniques, and all countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions are represented. In the main program for Nordic animated short films, 10 out of 16 films have a female director.
“For many years we have had a 50/50 representation of the sexes in our programs, but it is surprising that the films in the category for Nordic-Baltic animated short films have such a high degree of women represented,” noted festival director Anders Narverud Moen. “We have seen that student films have a predominance of female directors, which we can now assume gives results for this. We are very happy and proud to be able to present these women directors.”
A few of the notable titles from the across the lists include Danish duo Michelle and Uri Kranot’s Carl Sandburg-inspired VR film The Hangman at Home (winner of the Golden Dragon at Krakow Film Festival), Denmark-U.K. experimental stop-frame piece Orgiastic Hyper-Plastic by Paul Bush (Børge Ring Award, Odense; Special Jury Prize, Hiroshima Animation Festival), Lithuanian director Ignas Meilūnas’ absurdist kids’ comedy Matilda and the Spare Head (Young Audiences 6-12 Award, OIAF; Annecy official selection), BAFTA Student Award nominee Night of the Living Dread by National Film and Television School animator Ida Melum (also from Denmark) and Norway’s A COVID Love Story, the animated promo for traveling animation fest DOA created by John Christian Ferner Apalnes.
The juries for the competition program are also set, and the festival has announced two diverse juries comprising professional filmmakers who have all made award-winning short films. The jury for Nordic-Baltic short and student film consists of illustrator and director Bendik Kaltenborn (Norway), director and animator Lizete Upíte (Latvia) and short filmmaker Jala Maghout (Syria). The jury for commissioned film consists of director and animator Eirik Heggen (Norway) and producers Lana Tankosa Nikolic (Denmark) and Peter Lindblad (Sweden).
Nordic-Baltic Short Film:
Frydenlund Hair Parlour (Norway – 2021), dir: Hanne Berkaak
The Hangman at Home (Denmark – 2021), dir: Michelle & Uri Kranot
Flames (Finland – 2021), dir: Marja Viitahuhta
Face Recognition (Estonia – 2021), dir: Martinus Klemet
The Landing (Finland – 2021), dir: Kaisa Penttilä
Comeback (Latvia – 2021), dir: Vladimir Leschiov
Orgiastic Hyper-Plastic (Denmark, U.K. – 2021), dir: Paul Bush
A Most Exquisite Man (Estonia – 2021), dir: Jonas Taul
Reunify (Denmark – 2021), dir: Mette Tange, Peter Smith
Not Until Now (Sweden – 2021), dir: Clara Bodén
The Expected (Sweden – 2021), dir: Carolina Sandvik
Kusanagi (Norway – 2020), dir: Eirik Heggen
The Stork (Estonia – 2020), dir: Morten Tšinakov, Lucija Mrzljak
Beauty Rules (Sweden – 2021), dir: Anna Erlandsson
Farewell (Sweden – 2021), dir: Maria Åkesson
Matilda and the Spare Head (Lithuania – 2020,) dir: Ignas Meilūnas
Nordic-Baltic Children’s Film:
Nordlys / Goeksegh (Sweden – 2021), dir: Oskar Östergren
The Landing (Finland – 2021), dir: Kaisa Penttilä
Astrid The Fly (Sweden – 2021) dir: Charlotte Rodenstedt
Little Frog (Denmark – 2020), dir: Kim Hagen
How Shammies Travelled (Latvia – 2020), dir: Edmunds Jansons
Smile (Sweden – 2021), dir: Jonas Forsman
Matilda and the Spare Head (Lithuania – 2020), dir: Ignas Meilūnas
Nordic-Baltic Student Film
Hepatica 01100100 01100001 01110100 01100001 (Norway – 2021), dir: Terje Tolleshaug
Night of the Living Dread (U.K., Denmark – 2021), dir: Ida Melum
Jeffrey at the Bus Stop (Norway – 2021), dir: Peter A. Clayborough
Between the bees and the turbot (Sweden – 2020) dir: Ana Linnea Lidegran Correia
Second Breakfast (Estonia – 2021), dir: Lukas Winter
One More (Sweden – 2021), dir: Frida Tonnby
The Present Problem (Denmark – 2020), dir: Mads Thøgersen
Single Use Friend (Denmark – 2020), dir: Angsane Sallaud
Suspension Prima (Latvia – 2020), dir: Georgs Harijs Āva
Cut it out (Denmark – 2021), dir: Inez Kristina
Pink Pleasure Dome (Norway – 2021), dir: Maja Kjellstad Aanonsen
You Are Not a Kiwi (Estonia – 2020), dir: Maria Saveleva
Sensory (U.K. – 2021), dir: Alicia Frøy Johnsen
Hit the Nail on the Head (Estonia – 2021), dir: Cristo Madissoo, Lyza Jarvis, Maria Rakitina, Kaimar Lomp
FILM FOUND (Denmark, Norway – 2020), dir: Claudia Munksgaard-Palmqvist
BusLine35A (Denmark – 2021), dir: Elena Felici
Favorite Daughter (Denmark – 2020), dir: Susi Haaning
Nordic-Baltic Commissioned Film:
Danskespil frogs (Denmark – 2020), dir: Tonni Zinck, Sunit Parekh
Help! We Have a Blind Patient (Norway – 2021), dir: Robin Jensen
Choice (Norway – 2021), dir: Hanne Berkaak
Jannabi album promo (Netherlands – 2021), dir: Sverre Fredriksen
TV2 Brandstory (Norway – 2020), dir: Joseph Hodgson
TV2-Reklamebrudd 1, 2 and 3 (Norway – 2021), dir: Racecar
Fatigue (Norway – 2021), dir: Julian Nazario Vargas
Familien Lykke (Norway – 2020), dir: Ole Magnus Saxegård
League of Legends: The Path, An Ionian Myth (Denmark – 2020), dir: Kenneth Ladekjær
Skatteetaten feat. OnklP: Money Back On The Skætt (Norway – 2021), dir: APT
NAV – Health At Work 2 (Norway – 2020), dir: APT
Opening film Animac 2021 (Norway – 2020), dir: Gina Thorstensen, Nacho Rodríguez
Ben Baptie – Reenactment Of A Memory (Norway – 2021), dir: Steph Hope
ADRA (Norway – 2021), dir: Bjarne Anmarkrud
Kulturrådet – Titles and bumpers (Norway – 2020), dir: William Stormdal
/ Bleed, Bonsak Schieldrop (Norway – 2021), dir: Racecar
Speak Up – Presentation (Norway – 2021), dir: Tommy Vad Funderud, Markus Vad Flaaten
PTIL (Norway – 2020), dir: Morten Marius Apenes
Legends of Runeterra: Rise of the Underworlds (Denmark – 2021), dir: Mike&Payne
A Covid Love Story (Norway -2021), dir: John Christian Ferner
Apalnes TIFF2021 (Norway – 2021), dir: Torgeir Holm
Kate Bollinger – Grey Skies (Norway – 2020), dir: Steph Hope
Norsk Sykepleierforbund – Rwanda (Norway -2021), dir: Jeppe Grüner / Racecar
Helsadata – Direktoratet for e-helse (Norway – 2021), dir: Joacim Olofsson / Racecar, Franck Aubry / Racecar, Joseph Hodgson / Racecar Gifts of Destruction and Disorder (Estonia – 2020), dir: August Varustin, Ave Taavet
Ett helt annet sted (Norway – 2020), dir: Stian Johansen
Unboring Starts With U (Sweden – 2021), dir: Sofie Edvardsson
End of the line (Denmark – 2020), dir: Hera Hallsdóttir Bufdir (Norway – 2021), dir: Julian Vargas
Climate Adaptation (Norway – 2020), dir: Ronald Kabicek
Røde Kors Gatemegling (Norway – 2021), dir: Martin Myhre
Align (Denmark – 2021), dir: Mikkel Mainz Elkjær
How does grass turn in to food? (Norway – 2020) dir: Marte Maren Holth
Melgard Shark Love (Norway – 2021), dir: Yaprak Morali & Are Austnes
Vän med virus (Sweden – 2021), dir: Sofie Edvardsson
Career Limiting (U.K., Sweden – 2021), dir: Anna Mantzaris
Phoenix (Norway – 2021), dir: Syed Hasan Abbas
Solcreme (Denmark – 2020), dir: Tonni Zinck, Sunit Parekh
