Archives: Seminars

In Search of Excellence

Jérôme Combe – Fortiche
Masterclass from the studio behind the Netflix success Arcane, and how its founders have managed on setting Fortiche as a reference as an animation studio at a global level, since its creation in 2009.

Show me the Money

Franck Samuel – La Station Animation
Masterclass from one of the most prolific producers in France. How do French film and TV projects get financed? Learn everything about financing opportunities in France.

The Production Day is organized by Animasjon Norge, a subdivision of Virke Produsentforeningen with Frank Mosvold and Thomas Malmonte as project managers, and in collaboration with Fredrikstad Animation Festival. This event is supported by The Norwegian Film Institute, Virke Produsentforeningen and Viken Filmsenter.

Nordic French Co-Pro

Charlotte de la Gournerie – Sun Creature
Masterclass from the co-producer and studio behind 2022 Oscar nominee Flee, about how to make a Nordic-French co-production a success.

Nordic films in France

Vladimir Kokh – KMBO
Masterclass from one of the best theatrical distributors for animated feature films. Thanks to their experience of releasing Nordic animated features, let’s learn how to make a French box office hit!

The Production Day is organized by Animasjon Norge, a subdivision of Virke Produsentforeningen with Frank Mosvold and Thomas Malmonte as project managers, and in collaboration with Fredrikstad Animation Festival. This event is supported by The Norwegian Film Institute, Virke Produsentforeningen and Viken Filmsenter.

Are you a student who is interested in getting your current work reviewed by FAF guests and partners? Are you new in the field, looking for work, and don’t know where to start? Getting feedback is an essential part of starting a career in animation. Bring your portfolio and impress our panel of great artists and professionals. Space is limited so you must order a ticket before the event.

The potential of animation as horror – What characterizes animated horror? What is the value of it? And what are the fruitful synergies between the medium of animation and the genre of horror? These are some of the questions that will be asked in this symposium on animated horror.

Animation and horror share several traits: They are both pop cultural forms of expression that reanimate the seemingly lifeless; they are both characterized by the transgression of borders, and they are both allowed to be boundlessly inventive in their expressions. A premise of this symposium is that horror is a genre that is apt for dealing with fear, and not only for creating fear in the audience. We ask: What are the unique qualities of animation in its ability to treat and give expression to fear?

The keynote speaker of the symposium is Stacey Abbott, a Professor in film and television studies, who has written extensively on the topic of horror. She will discuss the fascinating synergies between animation and horror. Associate Professor of film studies Endre Eidsaa Larsen will present some theories of why horror matters, and suggest how animated horror can rework our sense of the familiar. Finally, Ray Whitcher, lecturer at the Department of Game Design in Uppsala, will discuss how the so-called Grimdark genre can be used as a framework for storytelling.

The symposium also includes screenings, a discussion among the speakers, and a Q&A with the audience. Welcome to a peaceful symposium on horror!

ANIDOX is a creative platform for the development and production of animated documentary projects. It runs a laboratory, a professional training course, a residency programme and masterclasses. Bringing together international film professionals to attend seminars and hands-on creative workshops, the main goal of ANIDOX is to foster and develop collaborations between animation and documentary creatives, and help them move further with their projects.

As part of a collaboration between the festival, ANIDOX and Viken regional film centre, a two-day workshop will be held, giving documentary and animation filmmakers the chance to meet and develop pitches for animated documentaries or documentaries that will use animation as a tool for storytelling. Concluding the workshop, the projects will be presented during a public pitch session at Fredrikstad Kino.

The workshop is led by Cecilie Bjørnaraa and Uri Kranot.

Norwegian animated film has been evolving rapidly in the last ten years, with new films premiering regularly in cinemas, and this development seems to continue into the next decade. In 2020 alone — a year in which conditions have been generally poor for feature films — four Norwegian animated feature films will premiere.

But are the Norwegian animated feature films good enough? Where does the animated feature film stand today, and what challenges must the animation community address in order to tell better stories?

We have asked journalists and writers from outside the animation community to point out the strengths and weaknesses of Norwegian animated feature films that have been developed in recent years. Journalists and critics Oda Bahr and Aksel Kielland will discuss the development of feature films in Norway in a conversation moderated by the head of animation studies at Volda University College, Trygve Nielsen.

The session will be in Norwegian.

In connection with the anniversary of Ivo Caprino celebrated during the festival, we have gathered a group of experts to take a closer look at the legendary filmmakers’ career and discuss his legacy.

Caprino emerged as a creative and innovative filmmaker who, in collaboration with other creative souls, used a variety of techniques to create a magical universe.

These films’ special place in Norwegian popular culture and their historical significance are the starting point for the conversation between Remo Caprino, son of Ivo Caprino and professor emeritus at Volda University College, Gunnar Strøm.

One of FAF’s main goals is to increase awareness of what is going on in the individual Nordic-Baltic animation scenes, and thus encourage a higher degree of exchange and cooperation within the region. “New Nordic Animation” is the festival’s yearly industry forum, and aims to give studios and other animation professionals a platform to show off their latest projects, exchange ideas and expand their international network.

For the 2020 session of New Nordic Animation, Norwegian director Yngvill Sve Flikke will be present alongside graphic novelist and animator Inga Sætre, giving a work-in-progress presentation of the upcoming feature film Ninjababy. The film combines live action and animation and is based on Sætre’s graphic novel Fall Technique.

The Danish studio Tumblehead and Swedish Soja will be joining the event remotely, presenting their work and new projects in their pipelines.

This year’s industry seminars are broadcasted to you from London. Three excellent directors and creators of animation will share their masterclasses from a professional studio, to tell the audience about their work and approach for producing high-quality content, either if you stay home or find your seats at the festival venue of Fredrikstad Municipal Cinema.

The highly-acclaimed director and Oscar winner for best animated short film, Michaël Dudok de Wit will showcase his work and films, including his Oscar-nominated feature The Red Turtle, which was produced by the legendary Studio Ghibli.

Lizzy Hobbs is an experimental filmmaker who uses her unique style to tell surprising stories. With her analogue technique, her films offer a creative and artistic perspective on everything from historical moments to mythical tales. In her masterclass she will discuss her approach to creating short films and show details from her productions.

Meet the filmmakers behind the films in the festival’s competition program for Nordic-Baltic Feature Films and get answers to your questions. In a question-and-answer session, you can ask the questions you’ve been wondering, get more information about the films directly from the people who made them and gain insight into the ideas, processes, and techniques behind the films. It all takes place at TÆPS, where the filmmakers are interviewed by preselection jury member and festival director, Anders Narverud Moen.

Meet the filmmakers behind the films in the festival’s competition program for Nordic-Baltic short films and get answers to your questions. In a question-and-answer session, you can ask the questions you’ve been wondering, get more information about the films directly from the people who made them and gain insight into the ideas, processes, and techniques behind the films. It all takes place in a relaxed atmosphere at St. Croix house, where the filmmakers are interviewed by preselection jury member, Nancy Denney-Phelps.

In Thursday morning’s seminar for students, two Nordic projects will be presented – both of which are painting their very own and unique universes.

The Finnish smash hit cartoon series Belzebubs is in development to become a TV-series, and during the Educational seminar, the series’ creator JP Ahonen and director Samppa Kukkonen will talk about the adaptation from comic book to animated TV-series. The series follows the members of black metal band Belzebubs and their everyday challenges between playing in a band together, family life and devil worship.

Rune Spaans, director of Two Buddies and a Badger 2: The Great Big Beast will share his experiences from the development process of the new feature film based on the universe created by Øystein Dolmen and Gustav Lorentzen. The film, which received critical acclaim and had the best opening weekend of all Norwegian films in 2020, is also part of Fredrikstad Animation Festival’s competition programme.

Often times projects stall in the idea phase due to the lack of funding to execute the project. As a filmmaker or producer are you unsure of where to start looking? FAF invited some of the funding organizations from Norway to present themselves at the festival. You can meet their representative and enjoy a free lunch at the Industry Area at Blender Collective. 

Every year, FAF gathers some of the foremost producers, filmmakers, and studios from across the Nordic region for a forum which is dedicated to shining a light on all the innovation happening in the field of animation in our part of the world. The forum is a collaboration among several Nordic organizations within the animation industry, and this year, exciting projects from all over the Nordics will be presented. 

Qvisten Animation, led by director Will Ashurst, will offer a Work-In-Progress presentation of The Brothers Gruff go to Splash World, set to premiere in Norwegian cinemas in December. From Sweden, Nordisk Film and producer Anna Warfvinge will showcase the studio’s work in developing animated TV-series. Additionally, Magnus Igland Møller from the Danish animation studio Tumblehead will share insights into the studio’s success with short films like Svinedrængen and how they achieve their unique 3D style. Also Liisa Vähäkylä will present her new book about Nordic Animation that was published earlier this year.

Want to present your work to one of the festival’s guests or partners? Are you looking for work, but do not know where to start? Sometimes it is essential to get some feedback on the work you’re doing. Bring your portfolio and impress our panel of great artists and professionals. For this year’s edition, the following festival guests are looking forward to offer their professional advice:

Neil Pymer
– Director, Aardman Animations

Charlotte Sanchez
– Line Producer, SunCreature Studios

In collaboration with Blender Collective, we invite delegates with an industry accreditation to use the facilities of the co-working place that the festival is part of. Free coffee, free wi-fi and the use of meeting facilities are offered to festival goers that have work to do, want to arrange a meeting or just wish to take a break. Exciting breakfast seminars are scheduled for Thursday and Friday morning, and you can use our video library to catch up on the festival’s short film programme if you should have missed a screening. More activities will be announced.

ANIDOX is a creative platform for the development and production of animated documentary projects. It runs a laboratory, a professional training course, a residency program and master classes. Bringing together international film professionals to attend seminars and hands-on creative workshops, the main goal of ANIDOX is to foster and develop collaborations between animation and documentary creatives, and help them move further with their projects.

As part of a collaboration between the festival, ANIDOX and Viken regional film centre, a two-day workshop will be held, giving documentary and animation filmmakers the chance to meet and develop pitches for animated documentaries or documentaries that will use animation as a tool for storytelling. Concluding the workshop, the projects will be presented during a public pitch session at the House of Literature in Fredrikstad.

The workshop was led by Frode Søbstad and Uri Kranot.

Read more about the workshop.

 

John M. Jacobsen is the grand master of Norwegian films and stand as the greatest producer over decades in evolving the industry, in as its success today. Many of the key figures of the national scene of animation and visual effects has started their careers in films and TV-series developed by Jacobsen. His stand in the film industry is recognized by the contributions to the animation film industry, as well as his efforts to elevate the importance of visual effects and concept arts in Norwegian cinema. This has affected the way a thriving film industry both works today and how major movies have their visual appearance today.

As a producer, Jacobsen has significantly contributed to the establishment of the internationally acclaimed Norwegian CGI, animation, and VFX communities. His work has also further developed the significance of strong visual language used in major Norwegian film productions. In this encounter with the veteran of Norwegian cinema, you will gain a better understanding of his thoughts on how Norwegian Cinema should appear visually and how it should engage with the audience.

Fredrikstad’s creative industry is flourishing. Well-known for its optimism, the city ishome to several highly acclaimed studios and animation, film and design agencies. In this breakfast talk at the industry area at Blender Collective, you can meet some of the key players from the local industry and follow the presentations of two in-house studios:

Netron is a digital creative agency specialising in film, animation, and interactive media. Their work runs the gamut from motion graphics, via 2D animation to full-blown 3D animation and live-action film projects. They have a small but agile teamwith a wide range of visual styles, enabling them to choose the technique and stylethat best suits the message on a per-project basis.

Provinsen is a design studio working on projects related to visual identity and branding,but also film and animation. In close partnership with the filmmaker Harald Fossen,they merge design processes with the classic filmmaking process. Their goal is to move people with design.

Short film director Michael Frei’s award-winning short films are known for his traditional 2D hand-drawn line animation in black and white. In a collaboration with game designer Mario von Rickenbach, he developed the short films Plug and Play and Kids into small interactive games. In the latter, the animation was assembled, composited and choreographed using a game engine with a custom-made animation system in conjunction with physics simulations. In this seminar, Michael Frei will go into the details of how he and Mario von Rickenbach worked to successfully port the project from one medium to another, focusing on solutions to the technical and artistic challenges they encountered along the way.