Torill Kove receives the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Canadian Film Prize for her new Mikrofilm/NFB short, Maybe Elephants. Distinguished NFB animator Torill Kove honoured at Vancouver’s SPARK ANIMATION

Vancouver – WEBWIRE – Thursday, November 7, 2024

Oscar-winning animator Torill Kove was honoured in Vancouver by SPARK ANIMATION, Western Canadas largest celebration of animation,presented by the Spark Computer Graphics Society.

Torill Kove received the festivals Lifetime Achievement Awardin recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of animation, as well as this yearsCanadian Film Prizefor her new short film, Maybe Elephants, co-produced by Mikrofilm and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

This new honour for Maybe Elephants brings the total to fourawards and mentions to date, including the Short Film Audience Prize at South Koreas Bucheon International Animation Festival and Best Nordic-Baltic Animated Youth Film at Norways Fredrikstad Animation Festival.

Im honoured and deeply touched to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Spark Animation festival. This is an occasion for me to reflect on how fortunate Ive been to have a career as an animation director with the National Film Board of Canada and the Norwegian animation studio Mikrofilm. I owe these two animation studios and everybody who has collaborated with me on my films a great debt of gratitude.I interpret this award both as an acknowledgement of my work so far and as encouragement to keep making more films. Torill Kove

Its also the fourth collaboration of the NFB and Norways Mikrofilm with the Montreal-based animatora stellar run of animation excellence over two decades, encompassing three Academy Award-nominated shorts, including her 2007 Oscar winner, The Danish Poet.

Maybe Elephants continues its festival tour this month at the London International Animation Festival, taking place online and in cinemas from November 22 to December 1. The film has been selected by more than20 festivalsso far, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, LAs Animation Is Film and AFI FEST, and the Toronto International Film Festival and Ottawa International Animation Festival.

More about the film

Maybe Elephantsby Torill Kove(Mikrofilm/NFB, 16min 43s)

Producers: Lise Fearnley (Mikrofilm), Maral Mohammadian (NFB), Tonje Skar Reiersen (Mikrofilm)

Press kit:mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/maybe-elephants

In the 70s,three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves inbustling Nairobiand the family willnever be the same.A playful and loving autobiographical homage to family, adolescence and the therapeutic power of memories, however unreliable, Koves new filmreunites thecast of her most recent Oscar nominee, Me and My Moulton.Narrated by Torill Kove,the film wrapsrich nostalgiaaround memories of eventful family trips, timeless teen antics and those inevitable moments of adolescent epiphanybursting with wit, ajoyful colour paletteand anenergetic soundscape.Maybe Elephantswas made with thecollaboration of several Kenyan Canadianswho played the roles of Kenyan characters and with whom Kove consulted onSwahili languageandKenyan culture.Torill Kove is a Norwegian-born filmmaker and animator living in Canada. Three of her films (including My Grandmother Ironed the Kings ShirtsandMe and My Moulton) have been nominated for Academy Awards, withThe Danish Poet,narrated by Liv Ullmann, winning the coveted golden statue in 2007. Koves films are known for her expressive designs and playful and poignant autobiographical themes.Version franaise ici | French version here.

About the NFB

Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the worlds leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each others stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canadas cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca.The NFB and its productionsand co-productionshave earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars andan Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.

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