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 10th 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.”