Another festival is approaching, four days which an animation lover can't resist! Here is some of the great fun you can experience during FAF17
(changes may come)

Thursday 9th of November
09:00 Breakfast Seminar: Goodbye Kansas
Hydrogenfabrikken

The festival is kick-started with a studio presentation of Swedish Goodbye Kansas Studios. The studio creates visual effects, digital animation and motion capture for movies, game trailers and commercials. The Studio has worked with visual effects for the TV-series The Walking Dead, character design for the short film Adam, a Unity project, and visual effects for the Palm d’Or winning film The Square.

12:00 Seminar for Upper Secondary School
Fredrikstad Kino

Two of our guest will hold a presentation of how they got into the industry and of their previous works.

Creative Director Julian Vargas from the Oslo-based studio Animaskin and Director and Artist Sophie Koko Gate, which is known for her work for clients like MTV, The Guardian, Airbnb, Vox, Lena Dunham and Harvard University. The seminar is open for all, and some parts will be in Norwegian.

14:00 Nordic-Baltic Student Film Competition (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Screening of the best student productions. The films are from the countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

16:00 Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition programme 1 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 9

8 out of 15 films selected for the Nordic-Baltic Short Film competition programme.

17:30 Nordic-Baltic Children’s Film Competition Programme (Norwegian version)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 6

6 films competing for the Golden Gunnar for best Children’s Film.

21:30 Opening Ceremony
Litteraturhuset

The Grand Opening with screening of films and entertainment.

Friday 10th of November

10:00 Visual Answers to Random Ideas
Fredrikstad Kino

Nathan Jurevicius’ entire career has revolved around the design of fantastic creatures, odd humanoid beings and reimagined animals. In this seminar Nathan will delve into his personal projects and visually discuss the thinking behind his creation process. Over the course of his presentation he will outline the seeds of ideas and how to bring concepts to fruition. Nathan will also look at the story telling aspects behind his animated projects, focusing on characters and the rich worlds they inhabit.

12:00 Experimental Animation, Research & Practice
Fredrikstad Kino

Dr. Samantha Moore is an animated documentary maker, interested in communicating subjects that can’t be shown in live action. In her teaching as a senior lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton, Dr. Samantha Moore focuses on the areas of ideas development, experimental and innovative animation, as well as combining research and practice. In her award winning animated documentaries, she primarily works with collaborators from the scientific community, from archaeologists to neuroscientists and microbiologists. During her presentation, Dr. Samantha Moore will discuss the methodology she has developed to make her work and present some of her films.

13:15 Best of International Short 2 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Programme two of two short film programmes selected by the festival crew, from the competition programmes of The International Animation Festivals – Annecy, Pictoplasma, Animafest in Zagreb and The International Trickfilm Festival – Stuttgart. Seven top international short films from the two last years is presented in this programme.
16:30: Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition Programme 2 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

7 out of 15 films selected for the Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition Programme.

18:30 Panel debate: Animation in Documentaries
Litteraturhuset

The latest year we have seen a couple of documentaries that uses a combination of both animation and live action footage to tell a story. In this panel, we will bring both animators and documentarists to discuss the outcome of such cooperation’s, why and how animations was used in the documentary and what struggles the filmmakers may have encounter in the process.

19:30 Meet the Filmmakers
Litteraturhuset

Meet the people behind the short films screened at the festival. In a loose and relaxed atmosphere, you may socialize with professionals of the national and international animation scene. Chris Robinson from Animation World Network (AWN.com) and Ottawa International Animation Festival will do a Q&A session with the filmmakers behind the great short films in the competition programme.

20:30 In this Corner of The World (Original version, English subs.)
Dir: Shuano Katabuchi
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 9

In this coming of age story we meet Suzu, a young girl soon entering the adult life, in the street of Hiroshima in the 30’s. This delightful anime tells the story of daily life, in a military society at the brink of war, all seen through the eyes of common people living in Hiroshima and the nearby city Kure, a military port.

23:00 Animated Night (Original version, English subs.)
Litteraturhuset
Age limit: 18

Expanded, scary, humorous, sexually explicit, or just bad taste, are keywords to describe the collection of films in this late-night screening of animated short films from all over the world. A perfect film programme to explore before the real party starts. Thirteen films that will for sure make you question how far animation can go

Saturday 11th of November

10:00 Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition Programme 1 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age limit: 6

8 out of 15 films selected for the Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition Programme.

10:30 Journey to Melonia (Original version)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 6

Per Åhlin’s masterpiece from 1989 is loosely based on, and is a homage to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The Journey to Melonia is a story about the wizard Prospero who lives on the fertile island of Melonia, along with his daughter Miranda and some strange, but good helpers. One day after a great storm, a box arrives at the Island from Plutonia, a fully industrialized island across the sea. A little boy has escaped from child labour in Plutonia, waking the citizens of Melonia to take action against the cruel chiefs of Plutonia.

12:00 Nordic-Baltic Children’s Film Competition Programme (Norewegian version)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 6

6 films competing for the Golden Gunnar for best Children’s Film.

12:00 Nordic-Baltic Student Film Competition Programme (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Screening of the best student productions. The films are from the countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

12:30 Best International Short 1 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Programme one of two short film programmes selected by the festival crew, from the competition programmes of The International Animation Festivals – Annecy, Pictoplasma, Animafest in Zagreb and The International Trickfilm Festival – Stuttgart. Seven top international short films from the two last years is presented in this programme

14:00 The Man Who Knew 75 Languages (Original version, English subs.)
Dir: Anne Magnussen & Pawel Debski
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: All Ages

A great talent finds the love of his life in a princess he never can get. Thwarted in love, he dedicates his life to the struggle of minorities in Europe. This film is about the remarkable life of Georg Sauerwein, and his lifelong love for Princess Elisabeth of Wied, later Queen of Romania. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the directors of the films.

14:30 Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition Programme 2 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

7 out of 15 films selected for the Nordic-Baltic Short Film Competition Programme.

16:45 Scandinavian Master: Per Åhlin
Litteraturhuset

Per Åhlin is one of the most notable Scandinavian directors, and has made several feature and TV series that are now considered to be classics. In this conversation with Elisabeth Lysander, the author of his biography, they will present the artwork and the films Åhlin has made since the 60’s. Per Åhlin has a strong visual style and his films deal with issues like preserving of nature and humanity. The talk will present a great artist and is held in Swedish.

17:45 Nordic Animation Forum
Litteraturhuset

In co-operation with the Swedish organization SAAVA, Finnish Animaatioklinikka, and Danish ANIS, Fredrikstad Animation Festival presents a seminar to highlight the Nordic animation scene. Together, we have made a programme that shows the diversity and current development in the scene of animation in this part of the world. The key speakers are: the Finnish producer of the new TV-series Moomin Valley, Marika Makaroff, Short Film Maker Malin Erixon from Sweden, Producer Bo Juhl Nielsen from the Copenhagen based studio Sun Creature, and the creator of Viking Skool, Frederick Howard from Storm Studios in Norway.

20:00 Psiconautas, The Forgotten Children (Original version, English subs.)
Dir: Pedro Rivero & Alberto Vazquez
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Teenagers Birdboy and Dinki have decided to escape from an island devastated by ecological catastrophe: Birdboy by shutting himself off from the world, Dinki by setting out on a dangerous voyage in the hope that Birdboy will accompany her. The Director Pedro Rivero will be present after the screening for a Q&A.

22:00 Award Ceremony

To mark the conclusion of the Nordic-Baltic competition programmes, a grand ceremony will be held. The Fredrikstad Animation Festivals award, the Golden Gunnar will be awarded to the winners of; Best Short Film, Best Commissioned Film, Best Student Film, The Audience Award and the Grand Prix. The host of the ceremony is Egil Olsen, a singer/songwriter who also happens to be an illustrator and an animator. He is known for his entertaining live shows where his honest and intimate music is carefully balanced with his unpredictable humour and charming stage presence.

Sunday 12th of November

10:30 Winner films (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Screening of the winner films from the Nordic-Baltic competition programme.

12:00 Best of International Short 2 (Original version, English subs.)
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 15

Programme two of two short film programmes selected by the festival crew, from the competition programmes of The International Animation Festivals – Annecy, Pictoplasma, Animafest in Zagreb and The International Trickfilm Festival – Stuttgart. Seven top international short films from the two last years is presented in this programme

14:00 The Night (Original version)
Dir: Steffan Strandberg
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 9

When Steffan’s mother died, he felt nothing. No sorrow. No relief. How did it come to this? The Night is director Steffan Strandbergs tale of growing up with an alcoholic mother, and the night that changed everything for him and his little brother. Through archive and animation, the film combines Steffan’s adult reflections with his childhood experience in an effort to reconcile himself with his past and his mother. After the screening there will be a Q&A session with the director Steffan Strandberg.

16:00: The Cat Returns
Dir: Hiroyoki Morita
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: All ages (Original version, Norw. subtitles)

The schoolgirl Haru saves a cat from being hit by a lorry. She is awoken that night by a parade of felines who have come out to celebrate her altruistic act. The question is, how can they possibly show her sufficient gratitude? They settle on kidnapping her and sending her to the Kingdom of Cats to wed it’s Cat Prince. What ensues is a captivating voyage of self-discovery – but will Haru escape the kingdom of cats or will she be trapped as a cat forever?

18:00 Your Name (Original version, Norwegian subs.)
Dir Makoto Shinkai
Fredrikstad Kino
Age Limit: 6

Mitsuha and Taki are teenagers living separate lives far apart. Their lives change forever when they suddenly and unexpectedly switch places and wake up in the other person’s body. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two are forced to cooperate and adjust their lives around each other. They build a connection and communicate by leaving notes, messages and, more importantly, an imprint.