Fleak and Captain Sabertooth lead the way as Nordic animation heads to Annecy

All on board as Captain Sabertooth and the Countess of Grel (Kaptein Sabeltann og Grevinnen av Gral) are sailing to Annecy.

In the film, shown in Annecy Presents, best friends Raven and Pinky serve under pirate Captain Sabertooth, aka the King of the Seven Seas. But when Sibylla, the Countess of Grel, attacks their ship, she steals a prized figurehead and kidnaps Pinky.

Norwegian film is directed by Are Austnes, Yaprak Morali and Rasmus A. Sivertsen – who only last year threatened the audiences with raunchy Spermageddon, co-directed with Tommy Wirkola – and produced by Cecilie Tidemann and Ove Heiborg for Qvisten Animation.

Another character waiting for its big moment? Fleak.

Directed by Jens Møller and produced by Antti Haikala for Anima Vitae, Fleak makes history as the first Finnish feature film in Annecy. It portrays little Thomas, reeling after an accident. Luckily, he soon encounters a new – and very colorful – friend who literally takes him to another dimension.

“Our main priority at Annecy is to introduce Fleak to more people and celebrate its world premiere. Our sales agent is connecting with the distributors, and that’s their main focus,” says Haikala. Arguing that the biggest challenge for animation makers is the scale.

“It’s difficult to get noticed with small independent films in the current market,” he notes. But personality goes a long way.

“I think local identity is something that’s really important. I’m a firm believer you have to be somewhat local to be global. But, of course, being ‘local’ can mean many things. In my opinion, it really boils down to authenticity.”

The film, sold by All Rights Entertainment, has already been attracting international attention, recently announcing its US release with Impossible Dream Entertainment and The Fithian Group. Anima Vitae is also behind Sky’s Moominvalleyseries and successful franchise about Niko the flying reindeer.

Also from Finland comes experimental fever dream Firewalk, described by one of its makers as a “slow pre-apocalyptic mood piece”.

“It presents a view of a forest at night, a fire, and a distortion of reality. Some people have seen it as a commentary on the ongoing ecological catastrophe. While I don’t argue with this interpretation, I see it more as a metaphysical collision of levels of reality, and a stripping-down of the illusion of animation itself,” says Vesa Vehviläinen, who forms musical duo Pink Twins with brother Juha.

“We are not really telling stories. In addition to making animations, we work with music and live performances,” he adds. “We are concerned with space, time, perception, sense of space, physical limits of human senses, interaction of sound and visuals, and the overload of information.”

Joining Firewalk in Off-Limits section, Thor Sivertsen’s Coda – an Animathorfilm production – also experiments, focusing on “organic shapes that are drifting and constantly making new forms”.

In the Official Selection, Finnish director and illustrator based in the UK Jenny Jokela will introduce the audience to Dollhouse Elephant, where a group of neighbours must learn to communicate, forced into interactions that challenge their independence. Produced by Jani Lehto (Böhle Studios), it’s distributed by Vanja Andrijevic (Bonobostudio).

In Ovary-Acting – a co-production between Norway, Sweden and UK – Ida Melum shows a thirty-something woman who suddenly gives birth to her reproductive organs at her own sister’s baby shower. Kjersti Greger produced for Klipp og lim, Michelle Brondum for Jante Films, Johan Edström for Apparat filmproduktion ab.

In TV Films Competition, Stories from Backwoods introduce the “topsy turvy world where trash is cool and carrots are the Best Food, wolves carry briefcases and hares don’t have hair, play is serious business, and friendship can be hard sometimes.” But mostly, life is a great adventure for Rooney and Hare. This Irish-Finnish collab is directed by Leevi Lemmetty, while Tamsin Lyons (Ink and Light) produces.

In the same section, Tiny Toot “Mushroom Magic” directed by Maria Mac Dalland will represent Denmark, and so will Casual by Kauli Green, heading to the graduation showcase.

Finally, Finland’s Aalto University is behind Lights, Haze – alongside Luca School of Art University is behind Lights, Haze – alongside Luca School of Arts and University of Lusófona – a poetic documentary that explores the ambivalence of memory through real locations on the outskirts of Tbilisi. Tata Managadze’s short will be shown among the graduation films.

More Finnish traces can be found in Clash Royale – Barboltian, where Barboltian, formerly Barbare, comes back to life thanks to Sony Music, Finnish mobile game development company Supercell, Squeeze, Uncommon and The Orchard. With Michael Bolton himself taking on ”How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”. A Canadian, Finnish and Swedish proposition, it was produced by Marie-Pier Pelletier and Fredrik Herneoja.

And all together now: “Tell me, how am I supposed to live without you? Now that I’ve been loving you so long?”