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.