I express my own views through movies
2021 Neum Animated Film Festival
At this year's 16th NAFF Festival in Neum, among the seven best and most competent, in the role of expert jury was the talented Ana Nedeljković from Belgrade. This forty-three-year-old animator and visual artist graduated and received her doctorate in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. She deals with animated film, visual arts and education in the field of contemporary art.
Her first animated film "Rabbitland", which she directed together with her colleague Nikola Majdak, was awarded the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale in 2013. The film has been screened at over 100 festivals around the world, and has won numerous other awards. For the first ten years of her career she presented her works in galleries, and then after her encounter with her colleague Nikola she focused on film achievements and prestigious awards.
"We realized that our talent could be expressed through film as well. The first film Rabbitland is a story about a perfect rabbit world, where democratic elections are held every day," Ana recalls her beginnings in the animation world. The award-winning Rabbitland was followed by their second joint film “Unravel” (2018) also screened at a number of festivals including the Berlinale, Annecy and Sundance. The fact that the film got qualified for an Oscar and was nominated for an Annie Award in Los Angeles testifies to what kind of film it is. It is a story about leaving, survival and (self) setting boundaries. About a girl who lives in an isolated country, surrounded by a high wall, who has never traveled anywhere, and who dreamed of going to a perfect world called Abroad all her life.
The film "Untravel" was made in the stop-motion technique with plasticine dolls, the process lasted for almost a year.
"When we are in shape, it is possible to do as many as four or five seconds a day. We changed the ending several times because we were both lucky and unlucky to deal with a current topic - the migrant crisis, raising wire fences and new walls. We were afraid that the reality was more brutal than what we have in the script and because of that the end of the film underwent changes. Ana is currently working on a new short animated film "About Money and Happiness" and on the development of a project for the feature animated film "New Rabbitland". Within the "Rabbitland studio" that she founded, they realize commercial animated projects and animated film workshops. Through most of the films, Ana expresses her personal views and thoughts in various spheres of life.
"I truly believe that animation is not just something sweet, beautiful and interesting. It can be an excellent tool with which we can refer to some political and social problems, "she said at the end of the conversation.
At this year's 16th NAFF Festival in Neum, among the seven best and most competent, in the role of expert jury was the talented Ana Nedeljković from Belgrade. This forty-three-year-old animator and visual artist graduated and received her doctorate in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade. She deals with animated film, visual arts and education in the field of contemporary art.
Her first animated film "Rabbitland", which she directed together with her colleague Nikola Majdak, was awarded the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale in 2013. The film has been screened at over 100 festivals around the world, and has won numerous other awards. For the first ten years of her career she presented her works in galleries, and then after her encounter with her colleague Nikola she focused on film achievements and prestigious awards.
"We realized that our talent could be expressed through film as well. The first film Rabbitland is a story about a perfect rabbit world, where democratic elections are held every day," Ana recalls her beginnings in the animation world. The award-winning Rabbitland was followed by their second joint film “Unravel” (2018) also screened at a number of festivals including the Berlinale, Annecy and Sundance. The fact that the film got qualified for an Oscar and was nominated for an Annie Award in Los Angeles testifies to what kind of film it is. It is a story about leaving, survival and (self) setting boundaries. About a girl who lives in an isolated country, surrounded by a high wall, who has never traveled anywhere, and who dreamed of going to a perfect world called Abroad all her life.
The film "Untravel" was made in the stop-motion technique with plasticine dolls, the process lasted for almost a year.
"When we are in shape, it is possible to do as many as four or five seconds a day. We changed the ending several times because we were both lucky and unlucky to deal with a current topic - the migrant crisis, raising wire fences and new walls. We were afraid that the reality was more brutal than what we have in the script and because of that the end of the film underwent changes. Ana is currently working on a new short animated film "About Money and Happiness" and on the development of a project for the feature animated film "New Rabbitland". Within the "Rabbitland studio" that she founded, they realize commercial animated projects and animated film workshops. Through most of the films, Ana expresses her personal views and thoughts in various spheres of life.
"I truly believe that animation is not just something sweet, beautiful and interesting. It can be an excellent tool with which we can refer to some political and social problems, "she said at the end of the conversation.
Poster Naff 2023
Catalogue Naff 2023