Anu-Laura Tuttelberg is an animator from Estonia who works in stop-motion, a medium that is all the more compelling in this digital world of computer animation. Her latest film, being released this year, is called On The Other Side Of The Woods, and it uses imagery from nature that is stark and compelling.
As she describes the story, “a clay doll awakens her surroundings that become a surreal world in constant flow of change.” What I find so unique about this film, as seen in the trailer below, is the use of real elements from nature — plants, dirt, water — animated in ways that are both eerie and strangely comforting. Also wonderful is the use of natural light, which flows over the scene in unpredictable ways that make the whole environment seem alive. The viewer discovers this strange yet familiar world even as the character does.
The film is being released in festivals this year. Her first animated film was called Fly Mill (“Kärbeste veski”) which was her graduation film at Estonian Academy of Arts in 2013. You can see more of her work at her website.
* * *
Teisel pool metsa / On the Other Side of the Woods TRAILER from Anu-Laura Tuttelberg on Vimeo.
* * *