Scary Tees animated film seeks Oscar nomination

An animated dark fairytale produced by a team of film-makers at the University of Teesside hopes to gain ‘Oscar- eligible’ status when it is screened at a major international animation festival next week.

The nine-minute 3D computer-animated screenplay Emily and the Baba Yaga has already impressed audiences at the Edinburgh Film Festival and toured seven major German cities including Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin as part of Germany’s Fantasy Film Fest over the summer before heading off to its Hollywood debut in September.

Now it is to be screened at the Cinanima International Animation Festival in Portugal after being nominated for ‘Best Film’ in the competition’s international section. The festival runs from 7-13 Nov. The website is http://www.cinanima.pt/

The film is based on an old Russian folk tale and tells the story of a young girl’s fight against a cannibalistic cantankerous old woman who lives in a dark forest and preys on children. The animation was invited to take part in the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival this summer, which is billed as the world’s largest short film festival.

The scary Tees tale narrowly missed the chance to be entered for an Oscar-nomination at the LA festival, but has a second chance in Portugal next week.

The film’s producer Siobhan Fenton, who lectures in computer animation at the University of Teesside, says: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Emily and the Baba Yaga has done so well so far on the international festival circuit. We feel we are on a roll. Being invited to LA Shorts Fest and Cinanima is fantastic.”

Clive Tonge, the film’s director, also lectures at the University. He says: “The British Council has also accepted the film onto their roster and will promote it to ‘A’ list international festivals. This means they consider the film to be at the forefront of showcasing British filmmaking talent.”

The traditional Russian story gets its modern scary twist from North East writer Rachel Mathews who armed Emily with an electric chainsaw in her battle against the old witch or Baba Yaga

The movie took three years to make and involved a 21-strong team of traditional artists and digital animators. Nineteen of the production team were based in the North East and 18 are either graduates or staff from the University of Teesside. The project received backing from Northern Film and Media, Middlesbrough Council, Teesside’s Animex festival, the DigitalCity initiative and the University of Teesside.

To view a trailer of the Emily and the Baba Yaga visit: www.thebabayaga.com

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