Joonisfilm

For the first time, an Estonian film has reached the Berlinale Short Film Competition. The animated film “Eeva,” directed by Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak, will be screened in the competition program of the 73rd Berlinale starting on February 16. The film was produced in collaboration between Eesti Joonisfilm and Adriatic Animation.

The Berlinale Short Film Competition is the festival’s third most important program, following the main competition for the Golden Bear and the Encounters section, which was introduced in 2020 to highlight more exploratory works.

“Eeva” depicts a day in the life of the title character. In the morning, she buries her husband, then moves on to the funeral reception at a local restaurant. As the day progresses, the burdens she has kept inside start to surface more and more…

Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak studied animation under Priit Pärn and Olga Pärn and have been realizing their creative projects at Eesti Joonisfilm. Their first collaborative film, “Demonstration of Brilliance in Four Acts” (2018), was selected for the competition at Annecy, one of the world’s most prestigious animation festivals. It also won the Golden Jabberwocky at the 25th Etiuda&Anima Festival in Kraków, the Best Croatian Film award at the Zagreb Animation Festival (Lucija Mrzljak is from Croatia, and the film was produced in collaboration with Croatian Adriatic Animation), and several other accolades. Their second collaboration, “The Stork” (2020), has also been successful, receiving awards at various international festivals and being named the best Estonian animated film at the EFTA gala. “Eeva,” now screening at Berlinale, is their third joint film.

Authors Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak commented, “Out of all our works, the new film has been the most technically challenging. We are proud of ‘Eeva.'”

Producer Kalev Tamm added, “At Eesti Joonisfilm, we strive to maintain high standards in both the artistic level and technical execution of our films. We are delighted that our work has been recognized and deemed worthy of participation in one of the most significant competition programs of a major festival like Berlinale.”

“Eeva” will premiere at the festival on Monday, February 20.

Another film involving Eesti Joonisfilm will also be screened at Berlinale. In the Generation Kplus competition program for children’s and youth films, “A Girl and a Dog” by Enzo d’Alò, a co-production of Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Estonia, and Germany, will be shown. The Estonian co-producer is the studio Amrion, with animation assistance from Eesti Joonisfilm.

Previously, the Berlinale Generation Kplus competition program has featured Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits’s Lotte films: “Lotte from Gadgetville” in 2007, “Lotte and the Moonstone Secret” in 2012, and “Lotte and the Lost Dragons” in 2019. Additionally, Aare Tilga’s feature film “Come Back, Lumumba” was part of the children’s and youth film program (then called Kinderfilmfest / 14plus) in 1993.

Berlinale is among the world’s most important film festivals, alongside Cannes and Venice. The first Berlinale was held in 1951.

“Eeva” was written by Morten Tšinakov, directed and illustrated by Morten Tšinakov and Lucija Mrzljak, and produced by Kalev Tamm and Draško Ivezić. The film was produced by Eesti Joonisfilm and Adriatic Animation, with support from the Estonian Film Institute, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

73rd Berlinale: https://www.berlinale.de/en/home.html

Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/724469078

Film information: https://joonisfilm.ee/en/films/eeva-2/

Eesti Joonisfilm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Joonisfilm/