1. Media Space

  2. Press Releases

Chintis Lundgren’s multi-award-winning animated short Manivald now online. 20 international awards to date for this acclaimed NFB/Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio/Adriatic Animation co-production.

PRESS RELEASE
28/05/2019

May 28, 2019 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

People across Canada and around the world can now enjoy Chintis Lundgren’s popular animated short Manivald (NFB/Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio/Adriatic Animation) FREE online, on NFB.ca, Facebook, YouTube and Vimeo, where it is a Staff Pick.

A sly, quirky and refreshing take on the difficult and delicate bonds between parents and children, Manivald is available since May 27 in both English and French.

The acclaimed 12-minute short has been selected to screen at more than 100 film festivals and received 20 awards, including a Special International Jury Prize at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, the Program A Audience Choice Award at the New York City Short Film Festival, and the Award for Best Script at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

“While going to different festivals with Manivald, I met quite a few mothers who had sons that didn’t want to move out. I hope my film gave them some new and interesting ideas about how to solve that problem! But we should also remember it’s not easy for the guy who comes to fix things, either. In fact, that’s what my newest film (Toomas Beneath the Valley of the Wild Wolves) is all about,” said Chintis Lundgren.

More about the film

Manivald, a fox, is turning 33. Overeducated, unemployed and generally uninspired, he lives with his overbearing, retired mother and spends his days learning piano while she makes his coffee and washes his socks. It is an easy life, but not a good one. Their unhealthy co-dependence is about to collapse when the washing machine breaks down and in comes Toomas, a sexy and adventurous wolf repairman, to fix it, and them.

Tinged with typically absurdist Estonian humour and featuring animator Chintis Lundgren’s faulty but loveable anthropomorphic characters, Manivald mixes the surreal and the heartfelt in its timely tale of an emotionally unnourished generation that continue to live with their parents well into their adult lives. The film pokes fun at the loving but sometimes unhealthy ties that bind parents and children, while celebrating the liberties of independence, self-discovery and growth.

Manivald is produced by Chintis Lundgren (Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio), Draško Ivezić (Adriatic Animation) and Jelena Popović (NFB). The executive producer is Michael Fukushima, head of the NFB’s legendary Animation Studio in Montreal.

–30–

Related Products

Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailers, synopses: Manivald

Associated Links

Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio
Adriatic Animation

Media Relations

  • Nadine Viau
    NFB Publicist – Montreal
    C.: 514-458-9745
    n.viau@nfb.ca

  • Lily Robert
    Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
    C.: 514-296-8261
    l.robert@nfb.ca

  • About the NFB

    The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a leader in exploring animation as an artform, a storytelling medium and innovative content for emerging platforms. It produces trailblazing animated works both in its Montreal studios and across  the country, and it works with many of the world’s leading creators on international co-productions. NFB productions have won more than 7,000 awards, including seven Oscars for NFB animation and seven grand prizes at the Annecy festival. To access this unique content, visit NFB.ca.