Animated Film AFIN 258
THE STONE VILLAGE
Directed by 
Kathrine Ulstein Johansen
AFIN 2024 Nominee
- 2024
- 25m
-
Norway - Hawaiian
- G
Stills
2 frames
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Credits
Produced by
Synopsis
WORLDS FIRST KVEN ANIMATION FILM Kuumitus - The Ghost - lives in Kivikylä - The Stone Village. As he stands outside his cave one early spring morning he hears shouts from the neighboring valley. There he finds Tähtipoika - The Star Boy who has crashed on his journey from a star far, far away. The two are playing together for a whole summer before Tähtipoika has to go back. The sun disappears and the time of darkness is coming. Kummitus misses Tähtipoika. Will they ever see each other again?
The film is animated from still photos added with some video footage and special effects.
The film is bilingual Kveni and Norwegian with english subtitles.
Director's Statement
Our goal is to make universal films based on our multicultural minority heritage - Kven and Sami and bring these out to the world.
What makes this one special
- Nominated for Best Animated Film
- The only film from Norway in AFIN's archive
- A first-time filmmaker
From the Judges
From the Judges
An animated adaptation rooted in the filmmakers' own heritage and told in its native language, this short reaches for something genuinely its own. The panel responded to its inventive blend of animation styles and to a score they found beautiful throughout, an artistic sensibility that gives the whole piece its distinctive texture. They admired its originality and the creative spirit behind bringing this story to the screen.
Director's Biography
Kathrine Ulstein Johansen Director
Kathrine Ulstein Johansen has a bachelor's degree in journalism from North University in Bodø. She has worked as a researcher, screenwriter and director's assistant at Siivet AS since 2018. She has participated in several documentary film projects. Kivikylä is her first fiction film and also the first film as a director. Kenneth Ulstein Johansen is studying game development through Noroff College. He has worked as a photographer, editor and animator at Siivet AS since 2016. Both have Sami, Kveni and Norwegian backgrounds. The Kvens are a minority group in Norway related to similar finis-ugric minorities in the northern Sweden, Estonia and Finnish and Russian Karelia. Kven is a highly endangered language. This is worlds first children film that uses the Kven language.
Trailer
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THE STONE VILLAGE was an official Nominee for Best Animated Film at the AFIN International Film Festival 2024, a Top 100 Best Reviewed and IMDb-qualifying festival.
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