Archives: Screenings

To celebrate the Lifetime Achivmenet Award Winner, John M. Jacobsen we screen the Norwegian fantasy thriller The Troll Hunter by André Øverdal, an international kult hit about the true Norwegian Trolls, and how to defeat them. 

Satire collective Gigi has made a big success in Denmark with its rough animations from the fictional Danish ghetto Blokhavn. In their latest film Shabholm, a rich oil sheik has bought the island of Bornholm and transformed the island into a Middle Eastern holiday paradise for foreigners. Hassan, who is fed up with Denmark and the discrimination, gathers his gang, his “shabas”, and together they head for the sunshine island. But is paradise too good to be true? Shabholm is a limitless black animated comedy about a checkered modern society, where different cultures must learn to live together.

Gigis is a groundbreaking Danish artist collective that is responsible for all parts of the production. Everything from idea, script, recording, music, and voices to score, designs and animation.

After returning to his homeland, Baltaine’s bacon pie Henry The Great reveals that his homeland has been taken over by Oriental pies under the terrible leadership of Tsar Aivens, and there is nothing left but to start fighting for the liberation of the homeland.

Janis Cimmermanis (born 1950 in Riga, Latvia) graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theater, Music, and Cinematography in 1980 and started working at the Latvian Puppet Theater as a director for puppet plays for children. Since 1983, he has been working at Latvian puppet film studios as a film animator and director. In 1993 he became one of the main film directors for stop-motion puppet animation films in Latvia when the puppet film studio became an independent private company called Film Studio Animācijas Brigāde Ltd.

This is the story of the three robbers Casper, Jasper and Jonathan, who lives outside of Cardamom Town. They are not happy with their lives and would like to live like normal people. After robbing the town several times they are finally caught and put in jail. When a fire breaks out in the tower of the town, the robbers come to help and become the heroes of the day. Based on one of the most important Norwegian children’s books of all time.

Rasmus A. Sivertsen (born 1972) studied animation at Volda University College and is co-owner of Qvisten Animation. He is a veteran in animation films and has directed Kurt Turns Evil (2008), two films featuring Ploddy the Police Car (2010, 2013) and The Christmas of Louis and Nolan (2013) and Louis & Nolan – The Big Cheese Race (2015) based on Kjell Aukrust’s universe. He also directed Two Buddies and a Badger which opened domestically in 2015.

Rosa is a tiny insecure flower fairy who dreams of having a friend. When her adventurous butterfly friend Silk is kidnapped by an evil Stone Troll, Rosa sets out on a journey to save her best friend.

Askepott er den 12. filmen i rekken av det som regnes som Disneyklassikerer og er basert på et eventyr av Chares Perrault. Filmen regnes som en av Disney sine største suksesser og det revitaliserte studioet er regnet som starten på Disney andre gullalder. Alle kjenner historien om jenta som blir synonymet på disney-prinsesse og hvordan man kaprer drømmeprinsen. Filmen vises i en helt ny digital kopi som er lansert denne høsten sammen med en rekke andre klassikere.

Norwegian version

14 professional short films were selected for FAF’s traditional Nordic-Baltic competition program. The films in the Nordic-Baltic competition program are competing for the festival’s Grand Prix, Best Nordic-Baltic Short Film, and the Audience Award.

Program 1 is a rush of a program, with a pacing that is typical for the Nordics. We start slow, but end up with outraged parties both in the pigpen and the favorite Holiday spot Syden, as Norwegian call everything in the Mediterranean region that can provide regular sunbathing and cheap booze.

With films from all of the Scandinavia, Program 1, puts the Nordic in the front seat of the Nordic-Baltic perspective of the festival. With both strong animated documentaries and fantastic fairytales, the films in the program, have a urge to tell story that feels important for the audience to watch and the filmmakers to present. And luckily mostly of the filmmakers are present and can share their visions and drives for animated short films.

Original version, English subtitles

Director: Jeremy Purcell
Ireland – 2023
Length: 80 min

OBOS welcomes all ages to this prepremiere of the magical Puffin Rock and the New Friends. Tickets are free, so make sure you get yours before they are all gone.

The puffins Una and Baba lives on a peaceful island far out in the sea. One summer they are visited by some strange birds who have fled north due to climate changes. Una, Baba and the other permanent residents gets new friends, but also new challenges. It becomes extra exciting when an egg mysteriously disappears. Can the little birds manage to find the egg before the storm hits the island?

Puffin Rock and the New Friends is a wonderful film from the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, which has previously given us The Song from the Sea and The Wolf Walkers. The film’s universe is already well known from NRK Children’s TV and the film will be released in cinemas with both Norwegian and Sami languages. «This is the story of one little puffin´s journey to making friends, finding happiness and, most importantly, making a new place a home» Jeremy Purcell, director

Here you get real Christmas magic from several of the Nordic countries’ favorite authors. Join us on an adventurous journey with Louis and Luca, the Tomten and the Fox, Moomin and Snow Children. Snøbarnas Juletime is a co-Nordic production where well-known animation studios give you well-known and beloved Christmas stories from all the Nordic countries.

Norwegian version

The Lion King is perhaps one of Disney’s biggest successes and is one of the films that marked Disney’s third golden age, which took place in the 1990s. The film, which was based on Hamlet by William Shakespeare, has through it’s engaging story, fantastic animation and music established itself as one of the greatest animated films ever released.

Norwegian version

14 professional short films were selected for FAF’s traditional Nordic-Baltic competition program. The films in the Nordic-Baltic competition program are competing for the festival’s Grand Prix, best Nordic-Baltic Short Film, and the audience award.

Program 2 is strong on stop-motion and the Eastern perspective of northern Europe and the result is excellent. Strong and well-established short filmmakers present their newest work in this program and on their way there have picked up great recognition and/ or new insight. And for our audience, the films give a multiplane perspective, that takes you on a road trip in space, history, time, identity, and eventually death, all that you expect from good films and animated shorts.

Original version, English subtitles.

Deep in the Ukrainian forests there are secrets that have been hidden from humans for a long time. Here lives the forest spirits who protect the ancient trees and everything that lives amongst them. Here you get to meet the young, naive forest spirit Mavka. But who would have thought that she would be chosen to be the new guardian of the forest? She promises to protect the forest’s soul from anything that threatens. Especially against the greedy people. But what happens when she falls in love with the musician Lukas – a human?

Original version, English subtitles

With it’s stunning animation, this beloved classic is back in theaters for Disney’s 100th anniversary. Bambi joins his friends Thumper and Flower to explore the challenges and wonders of the forest, and to fulfill his destiny as the prince of the forest.

Norwegian version

12 student projects have found their way to the 2023 edition of FAF competition program. Films from Denmark, Estonia, Sweden and Norway represent the new talent from the north.

The 2023 student film program bears mark from the pandemic period, with strong personal films where the filmmaker shows an incredible effort to manage a complex production on their bare shoulders. The student shows an unique diversity of approaches and techniques in animation. From art to crafts, the films vary as the animation scene itself. The student films in the Nordic-Baltic competition program are competing for the festival’s awards for best student film, Grand Prix and the audience award.

Original version, English subtitles

Be amazed! Fasten your seat belt and dive into 24 films in less than 60 minutes. Here is the Nordic-Baltic Competition program for Commissioned Films, including commercials, music videos, information films, identity work, and one or two exhibition pieces. In other words, all the fun the industry makes for a customer. A diverse, but very commercial program that the jury should have a tough job to judge and fun to watch for the rest of us. The films are competing for the festival award for Best Commissioned Film.

Original version, English subtitles

Six films have been chosen to compete for Best Nordic-Baltic Children’s Film during FAF 2023. Six films that tell magical stories in their own way, where the animation creates a mythical world for the story to evolve.

Original version, English subtitles

The Young Audience program is dedicated to Nordic-Baltic films that approach an older children segment, from nine and up. Four film compete in this competition and are contenders to get the best award for children’s film, judged by the local children’s jury. Four diverse stories whit a different visual approach, that takes the perspective of a younger audience into more sensitive themes and intimate sphere.

Original version, English subtitles

Animation creates a magical world for all ages, and the Kindergarten Program is maybe the most magical place you can enter. As the most important of the audience segment of Fredrikstad Animation Festival, a program for the smallest of us is curated to accommodate their demand for good quality stories and artistic animated films. The program for kindergarten can also push boundaries for the adult audience and gives an artistic view on issues like inclusiveness, motherhood and identity. Big questions that are a never ending discussion, so why not start early?

Program one of two with the best that the international animation scene has to offer the last years. 12 films have been selected by the festival organization from other international festivals for animation and short films. Program 1 represent some new classics that have made a huge impact on the international scene, with Flóra Anna Buda’s Palme d’or winner 27 as a real highlight of the 2023 animation scene. But the rest of the program doesn’t stand back on the creative approach and the urge to use animation as a media to tell important stories.

Original version, English subtitles

Best of International Short Program 2 is some of the best of what the international animation scene has to offer in recent years. And it’s good! Serious, humorous, and with a great humanistic approach the films in the program, is a must-see. Also, the quality of LBTQ+ films has the past years increased their ambitions and quality, which Christopher at Sea is a good example of (if you are more interested in the subject there are more hidden gems in many of FAF’s different programs, including Nordic-Baltic Children Films and Best of International 1). The films in the program get in-depth in different animation techniques from highly digital formats to analog stop-motion, and even pinscreen, which gives an insight of the evolution of animation as a means to tell great stories in the year 2023.

Original version, English subtitles