Category: Press

Join us April 18 at first screening of Burmer’s newest short film, Yokaitopia

Posted on by Rita Cipalla

Glenna Burmer’s newest animated short film, Yokaitopia, will have its first public screening on Saturday, April 18 at the 2026 Shoreline Short Short Film Festival where it will be one of 12 films screened that evening. Selected films were competitively chosen by a panel of local filmmakers and advocates.

The Shoreline Short Short Film Festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, will be held at the Shoreline Community College Theater, 16101 Greenwood Avenue N. Doors open at 5 p.m.; the show starts at 6 p.m. 

This popular local film event is known for supporting emerging and developing filmmakers in Washington state and promoting visibility and appreciation for the art of filmmaking in our local community. Three $1,000 cash awards will be given out that evening for Judge’s Choice, People’s Choice and Best Student film. 

Buy tickets here.

Burmer’s newest film, Yokaitopia, introduces Western audiences to the mysterious world of Yokai — strange, sometimes terrifying, Japanese spirits that inhabit all living and inanimate objects.  The film begins with a young Japanese boy enjoying a carefree bicycle ride through a lush, sun-dappled forest. Suddenly, a mysterious black cat appears in his path, and within minutes his life changes irrevocably. 

The young boy follows the cat to a secluded house at the edge of a forest where he finds broken toys trapped inside by the snow demon Yuki-Onna. He repairs them and then outwits the demon, breaking the spell and freeing the toys. The film’s message of kindness and generosity is brought to life with sumptuous animation, rich vibrant color palette and stirring all-original musical score. 

Watch the trailer here.

A classical composer and award-winning concert and animated-film producer in Seattle, Burmer’s music and original voice create compelling stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. Yokaitopia is the third animated film produced by the multi-award-winning collaboration between Glenna Burmer and the animation studio Deep Sky. Previous films, which continue to make the rounds internationally via film festival screenings, are Nana korobi, Ya oki, which received the 2021 Seattle Filmmaker Award, and Bippy the Little Robot, a festival favorite that was judged to be “a small visual masterpiece … The animation, the cinematography and the editing are just perfect.”

Burmer’s new short film takes viewers into the supernatural world of Yokai

Posted on by Rita Cipalla

Yokaitopia, Glenna Burmer’s newest animated short film, introduces Western audiences to the mysterious world of Yokai — strange, sometimes terrifying, Japanese spirits that inhabit all living and inanimate objects. 

Yokai are interwoven into Japanese culture, folklore and everyday life where they serve to explain away seemingly inexplicable events. Their antics range from benign, even comical, to mischievous to downright evil.

The film begins with a young Japanese boy enjoying a carefree bicycle ride through a lush, sun-dappled forest. Suddenly, a mysterious black cat appears in his path, and within minutes his life changes irrevocably.

Watch the trailer here.

As the film unfolds, the spirit cat leads the boy through a darkened, creature-filled forest to a secluded house whose front door is protected by an elaborate seal. As soon as he removes the seal, it begins to snow. Inside he finds broken toys trapped by the snow demon Yuki-Onna. 

In a display of compassion, he repairs the toys and together they outwit the demon. The spell is broken and the toys are freed, but the story does not stop there: The boy’s kind-hearted gesture will influence his life for decades to come. 

The message of kindness and generosity is brought to life in Yokaitopia with sumptuous animation, rich vibrant color palette and stirring all-original musical score. 

Award-winning collaboration

Yokaitopia is the third animated film produced by the multi-award-winning collaboration between Glenna Burmer and the animation studio Deep Sky. Unlike most films where the music is composed after filming ends, Burmer’s original music drives the plot. In her creative process, she envisions the storyline, composes the music to relay that narrative, and creates its distinctive characters, then brings it to the animation studio to visually translate the music’s style and atmosphere. 

Deep Sky’s design and post-production team perfectly capture the supernatural world of Yokai. The creative team, led by art and animation director Gaby West and creative director Barret Thompson, blended visual effects, lush colors and innovative graphics to provide a visual experience unique in its scope and originality.

More about the production team

A classical composer and award-winning concert and animated-film producer in Seattle, Burmer’s music and original voice create compelling stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. Last year she was featured in Filmmaker Life Magazine in a story that highlighted her artistic voice and unique combination of talents that include bioscientist, composer and filmmaker: “Her scientific mindset informs her precision and curiosity, while her musicality provides emotional depth and cohesion to her stories.”

Before Yokaitopia, Burmer produced two other short animated films that continue to make the rounds internationally via film festival screenings. Her debut film Nana korobi, Ya oki received the 2021 Seattle Filmmaker Award, was selected to tour Great Britain in 2022, and won a Best Animation award at the Alpine International Festival in Bern, Switzerland, where it was shown at the request of festival producers. 

Her second award-winning film, Bippy the Little Robot, was also an award-winner at festivals worldwide, including Best Animated Film at the Milan Film Festival where jurors called the film “a small visual masterpiece … The animation, the cinematography and the editing are just perfect.” In 2025, Bippy was selected to be screened with 13 other animated short films from around the world at the Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Deep Sky, based in Portland, Oregon, is a design, post-production and live-action studio known for its groundbreaking work in 2D and 3D animation, motion graphics, product visualization and visual effects. Collaborating with fellow Portland-based studio Imaginary Planet, which specializes in character-centric 2D and 3D animation and development, they bring remarkable versatility in style and genre to their projects.

Filmmaker Life Magazine highlights Burmer and “her symphony of storytelling”

Posted on by Rita Cipalla

Award-winning filmmaker Glenna Burmer was one of six filmmakers spotlighted in the newest issue of Filmmaker Life Magazine.

The five-page feature captured Burmer’s artistic journey – from her training as a bio-scientist to her second, equally successful career as a filmmaker and composer, which she launched in 2011.

This unique background ensures that Burmer’s artistic voice is original and distinctive. “Her scientific mindset informs her precision and curiosity, while her musicality provides emotional depth and cohesion to her stories,” said the magazine’s editors.

Burmer has produced two short animated films that are making the rounds internationally via film festival screenings. Her debut film was Nana korobi, Ya oki, completed in spring 2021, which has won more than 60 festival awards worldwide.

Her latest is Bippy the Little Robot, set in the future when humans are gone and all that remains are broken and forgotten machines. Chosen as Best Animated Film at the Milan Film Festival in Italy, jurors called the film “a small visual masterpiece … just perfect.” Both shorts were produced by Glenna Burmer in collaboration with Deep Sky & Imaginary Planet.

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Burmer wins Best Animation Award at Alpine International Film Festival

Posted on by Rita Cipalla

Glenna Burmer’s animated short film, Nana korobi, Ya oki, recently received an award for Best Animation at the Alpine International Film Festival in Bern, Switzerland.

The film tells the story of a young girl in Hokkaido who overcomes seven trials to save an orphan during a snowstorm. It was created and produced by Glenna Burmer in collaboration with artistic director Gaby Breiter of Deep Sky Studios in Portland, Oregon. The original music featuring woodwinds and strings was composed by Burmer and recorded by Dynamedion in Germany.

Watch the film trailer here.

The Alpine International Film Festival, expanded to a virtual format in 2023 to encourage more participation from producers and movie viewers, holds a monthly competition dedicated to short films of all genres. Burmer’s film was sought out by festival organizers after they had seen it at a partner festival.

Nana korobi, Ya oki has received some 60 awards from around the globe for best animation, best female composer and outstanding achievement, among others. The film was chosen to tour Great Britain in 2022 by the Women Over 50 Film Festival. The following year, Burmer received the Best Music Composer Award from the Tokyo Film Awards as well as the Award of Excellence for Best Animation from the Vegas Movie Awards where festival organizers called the film “beautiful.”  

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.

Burmer’s Nana Karobi, Ya Oki earns recognition in two award competitions

Posted on by Rita Cipalla

Glenna Burmer’s short animated film, Nana korobi, Ya oki, was recognized in two film competitions recently.

The animated short won a first-place award for Best Original Animation at the Cinesis Independent Film Fest. Cinesis, an online/hybrid film competition held three times a year, celebrates films that employ a philosophical approach to storytelling. Its international reach gives filmmakers a way to share their work with a larger global audience.

Nana korobi, Ya oki also won an honorary mention from the Royal Society of Television and Motion Pictures. This film festival showcases new and creative films and encourages up-and-coming producers. Films selected by RSTMPA tend to focus on social change and international understanding.

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.”

The short 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 Burmer. Not only is it a female-led film in the areas of production, musical score and on-screen animation, but it was also inspired by Burmer’s mother who was a sumi-e artist.

Burmer’s animated film — her first — has won more than 50 festival awards worldwide since it was completed two years ago. Among top honors were awards from several prominent Pacific Northwest festivals, such as the Seattle Film Festival and the Oregon Short Film Festival, as well as recognition from festivals worldwide from India to Istanbul, Spain to Singapore.