Must see over 1200 films before there can be a festival

The board of Animation Volda is in the process of selecting the best of the best, when more than 1,200 films will be turned into a film program of around 80 films.

– It's a lot of work, says Vincent Malnes with a good smile, which is also a bit serious.

He is the head of Animation Volda. The student-run animation film festival, which attracts capacities within the industry, and serves the Volda audience high-quality animation films.

And in order for the festival, which this year takes place from 21 to 24 September, to be able to guarantee quality, the organizers have a big and important job to do this summer. Hence the serious smile at Malnes. Together with him in the management group for the festival, he has four classmates, all of whom have just completed the first year of the Bachelor in animation.

See the festival's own website here.

Some really good films

The deadline for submitting films to be considered for Animation Volda's program expired in mid-June. By then, over 1,200 films had been dumped into the inbox of festival director Malnes and the gang.

The first requirement for the films is that they must be animated films, and their length must be between one and ten minutes.

Then the difficult work of sifting begins for the animation students.

– There will be a lot of films for the five of us on the board to look through. We have to distribute a little and cooperate well, Malnes realises.

Although the job is time-consuming, he also places great emphasis on it being rewarding.

– Fortunately, some really good films appear every now and then. That makes it worth all the work.

In the end, they will be left with around 80 films which will make up the film part of Animation Volda's programme.

Biggest since Flåklypa Grand Prix

Animation Volda is more than the films themselves, which are shown on the screen at the community center in the center of Volda. Already now, we can reveal two interesting guests who will share their knowledge and shine on the festival.

The animator Kajsa Næss released the film Titina last year. An hour and a half long animated film that made the reviewers throw sixes after sixes on the dice. Several believed that the film is the biggest Norwegian animated film since Flåklypa Grand Prix, which was made in 1975, and that Titina will become a future classic in Film-Norge.

During Animation Volda, Næss will take the audience into the entire process of making Titina. If you go to the lecture, you will certainly find out more about the 94,000 drawings that make up the film, and probably a lot of other interesting things that are behind such a success.

From the stage, the audience will also get to know Jan-Erik Maas better. The former animation student returns to Volda. Today, he holds the title of Senior Stop-Motion Animator at LAIKA – according to Malnes, the largest stop-motion agency in the world.

Volunteer during the festival

In addition to Malnes, the board for the festival consists of Haeven Granholt (graphics manager), Jenny Thingelstad (technical manager and website), Majken Fedøy (deputy manager) and Malin Åhlberg Olsson (vignette manager).

– In addition, we need volunteers to contribute during the festival. We will be visible from the start of the study year in August and onwards towards the festival. We hope many people want to contribute, says Malnes.

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