Category: News

Glenna Burmer’s Nana korobi, Ya oki, won the award for Best New Animation Style at CLIMAX, a virtual streaming film festival based in Spain that focuses on excellence in film from around the world.

Nana korobi, Ya oki follows the tale of a young Japanese girl who overcomes seven trials to save an orphan during a snowstorm. The animated short film was created and produced by Glenna Burmer with assistance from artistic director Gaby Breiter of Deep Sky Studios in Portland, Oregon. It also features an original score with woodwinds and strings, composed by Glenna Burmer.

Burmer’s film was selected by a CLIMAX jury from a field of 20 animated films submitted by talented filmmakers from 12 countries. The short film had also been nominated in the Best Creative Environment and Best Animated Film categories.

Released in 2021, Nana korobi, Ya oki  has won more than three dozen awards in festivals in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and the Mideast. View a 2-minute preview here.

Nana korobi, Ya oki uses a dreamy animation style that reflects sumi-e art, a Japanese artistic style which employs black ink and distinctive brush strokes. The style was chosen as a tribute to Burmer’s mother, who was a sumi-e artist.

Nana korobi, Ya oki , a short animated film with original music and story by Glenna Burmer, just received the award for Outstanding Animated Film at the 10^th annual Short Circuit Pacific Rim Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. The film was judged against 10 other contenders in the “Brought to Life” category.

The Pacific Rim Film Festival runs through the month of May.  From May 1-7, the films could be seen in person at The Vic Theatre. Now through the end of May, 50 films in all eight screening categories can be viewed online.  Get tickets here.

Burmer’s animated film has won more than 50 festival awards worldwide since it was completed in spring 2021. Among top honors are awards won at several prominent Pacific Northwest festivals, such as the Seattle Film Festival and the Oregon Short Film Festival.

The film was created by music producer and filmmaker Glenna Burmer and produced and animated by Deep Sky, led by art director Gaby Breiter. The original music featuring woodwinds and strings was composed by Glenna Burmer. Not only is the film female-led in the areas of production, musical score and on-screen animation, but it was inspired by Burmer’s mother who was a sumi-e artist, a genre that influenced the film’s dreamy animation style.

Nana korobi, Ya oki, or Seven Falls, tells the inspirational story of a young girl who undergoes seven challenges to save a dear friend from the cold. The film’s title is from a Japanese proverb which says:  “Seven times you may fall, but get up the eighth.”  

Nana korobi, Ya oki , an animated short film with original music and story by Glenna Burmer, is part of the line-up at the 2022 Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival in Victoria, British Columbia.

This year, the festival will be a hybrid model. Films can be seen in-person at The Vic Theatre from May 1-7. Starting May 8, 50 films in eight screening categories can be viewed online through May 31. Nana korobi, Ya oki will be screened with 10 other animated films in the “Brought to Life” category.

Get more information on the Victoria screening here.

Burmer’s animated short has won more than 50 film festival awards worldwide since it was completed in spring 2021, including top honors in several prominent Pacific Northwest festivals, such as the Seattle Film Festival and the Oregon Short Film Festival.

The film was created by music producer and filmmaker Glenna Burmer and produced and animated by Deep Sky, led by art director Gaby Breiter. The original music featuring woodwinds and strings was composed by Glenna Burmer. As a female-led film in three areas — production, musical score and on-screen — it’s a beautifully animated story inspired by Burmer’s mother who was a sumi-e artist.

Deep Sky has posted a series on Instagram with a behind-the-scenes look at the film that can be viewed here.

Nana korobi, Ya oki ,or Seven Falls, tells the inspirational story of a young girl who undergoes seven challenges to save a dear friend from the cold. It illustrates having the courage and determination to overcome obstacles in order to do the right thing.  

The film’s title is from a Japanese proverb which says:  “Seven times you may fall, but get up the eighth.”  

Nana korobi, Ya oki , which won a Best Animation award in the Women Over 50 Film Festival recently, was added to the WOFFF Best of the Fest tour for 2022. WOFFF officials are still working out the details as to where and when, but organizers hope to tour virtually as well as in person next year.

The animated short — written, created and produced by Glenna Burmer with assistance from artistic director Gaby Breiter of Deep Sky Studios in Portland, Ore. — got rave reviews from WOFFF film judges Linda McCarthy and Jen Hall. Both women work in animation, McCarthy as a film creator and Hall as the founder and producer of the Manchester Animation Festival.

Sharing their comments with Burmer, the two judges commented on Nana korobi’s animation style, story arc and musical score:

“This film is accomplished and beautiful. The animation and drawing style is excellent and the story arc flowed nicely. The journey has a good combination of menace and resolve with a surprise at the end. The music was lovely and complemented the film.”

Women Over 50 Film Festival showcases the work of women over 50 on screen or behind the camera. This year’s festival was held September 25 – October 2, 2021, in Brighton, England. WOFFF was created in 2014 by Nuala O’Sullivan who wanted to offer a positive and practical response to a lack of visibility that often greets women entering the film world.

Nana korobi, Ya oki, or Seven Falls, tells the story of a young Japanese girl who overcomes seven trials to save an orphan during a snowstorm. The film’s title is from a Japanese proverb which says:  “Seven times you may fall, but get up the eighth.”

The original music, cited in the WOFFF judges’ comments, was composed by Glenna Burmer and recorded by Dynamedion in Germany.

Glenna Burmer is a composer and artist who produces live concerts, music and dance programs that feature original music, choreography and video. As president of Burmer Music LLC for the past decade, she has produced six contemporary classical music CDs or music compilations, including three concerts at Benaroya Hall in Seattle and a ballet at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Wash. Nana korobi, Ya oki is her first animated film.

Engaging, visually pleasing with a beautifully composed score – these are some of the comments judges made when selecting Glenna Burmer’s Nana korobi, Ya oki an award winner at the Oregon Short Film Festival.

The judges cited the film’s overall creative style, calling Nana korobi an “inspirational story” and a “great animated tale.” The music received additional commendation, with judges noting that “the score is beautifully composed to guide the viewer on an emotional journey they are sure to remember and enjoy.”

Nana korobi, Ya oki, created and produced by Glenna Burmer with assistance from artistic director Gaby Breiter of Deep Sky Studios in Portland, Ore., tells the story of a young girl in Hokkaido who overcomes seven trials to save an orphan during a snowstorm. The animated short features original music composed by Glenna Burmer and recorded by Dynamedion in Germany.

The film will be screened at the Oregon Short Film Festival on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland. The awards ceremony starts at 3 p.m. followed by the festival film screenings. For tickets, go here.

“I am absolutely thrilled to win this award and our team and I look forward to attending the festival in Portland,” Burmer said. “The award is particularly meaningful because our film was a joint Seattle-Portland production.”

View the 2-minute preview of Nana korobi, Ya oki on Vimeo.

Films at the Oregon Short Film Festival are selected for engaging content, creativity, strong production value and great stories that entertain audiences. The Oregon festival is a three-season event on the film festival circuit that attracts filmmakers and screenwriters of all genres who enjoy showcasing their creative works in the Pacific Northwest. The event was founded by author and retired filmmaker Mikel Fair who worked in the film and television industry for nearly two decades.

This spring and summer, Burmer’s film has been recognized at more than a dozen film festivals in the U.S., Canada and India, receiving awards for best animation, best female composer, outstanding achievement and an award of excellence.