Vanja is a tiger, roaming the jungle, lurking, attacking. But when it gets dark, he is afraid – and when his sister Thea turns on the light, the brave tiger turns into a little boy in a completely leafless apartment. “I’m Not Afraid” is Vanja’s mantra, which he uses to hold his own in everyday life, when fantasy and reality blend seamlessly, when the dark staircase turns into a dungeon and the play of shadows into monsters. But also when he feels excluded by his older sister who does not want him to join in her games. Marita Mayer’s playful 2D animation follows Vanja through all emotional states and imaginary worlds, treats the needs of all children equally. Growing up is hard, being a child often is, too. But when everyone sees and understands the other it gets easier, and often it even becomes proper fun.

Marie Ketzscher

The collaborative artistic work of Menno de Noojer (son), Paul de Noojer (father) and Françoise de Noojer (mother), which oscillated between photography and experimental film, spanned almost fifty years. Rather than allowing posterity to label, categorise and, as the case may be, mothball their work, the three realised a final film together just before Paul de Noojer died, when he was already seriously ill. A last joint film as an exuberant self-homage, in which they combine experimental-documentary storytelling, performance, pixilation and stop motion, funny and sad moments, pathos and trash, a joy of putting on costumes and vulnerable nudity. With “Heaven is Blue? #2”, the Noojers celebrate life as a total work of art in which all processes of becoming human and all symptoms of decline have their place and death is a natural part of the whole.

Marie Ketzscher

A girl is crying, carving scratches into the wood with a Swiss army knife – exactly as if they were flesh wounds. On top of that, she cuts off her hair. But she is not alone with her sadness: A tender “Nisse” (a household spirit) watches her. When she seems to vanish in the thicket of her dark thoughts, he drops a small injured bird in her way so that both can learn to fly. “Mother Didn’t Know” is a magical and dark tale of childhood depression and of the importance to recognise it and react without delay. The girl’s emotions are given ample space; the camera is close to her and her demons. All around, delicate dust motes float in the air like fairy dust. Killi’s film, though, could also be a tale about the burden of growing up, a burden that becomes unrelatable in retrospect. In any case, there are windows, exits, light – if you only look closely enough.

Marie Ketzscher

Losing your hair through chemotherapy is a painful experience for many people, not least because a bald head displays one’s new vulnerability so blatantly. But Maja Arnekleiv, the daughter of Norwegian animation director Anita Killi, turns the steps of the transformation – the original mum’s hair, the near-baldness, the new growth which is so different from the pre-chemo hair – into a tribute to resilience, love and family solidarity even in difficult times of illness. In a pixilation documentary produced over a period of two years, she captures in 755 single frames (selected from more than 3,000) how she and her siblings comb, blow-dry, style, braid and spray Anita Killi’s hair, while Killi always has her eyes firmly on the viewers. Sometimes laughing, sometimes serious, always loving. In 2017, Marja Arnekleiv won the Golden Dove for this tender, very touching film which celebrates the mother of four, whatever she looks like.

Marie Ketzscher

Gosh, how boring and lonely it is here in the castle! That is what the little king thinks and so one day he vanishes. Everyone is desperate and at their wit’s end. The whole staff look for him for six days. No luck. And so the chamberlain, the commander, the jester and the second-in-command set out into the dangerous enchanted forest to find a new king. “The King Who Wanted More Than a Crown” was originally performed as a modern fable for all age groups with live orchestra accompaniment, to inspire a love of classical music especially in children. But even without live elements, Anita Killi's and Randall Meyers' cut-out animation works amazingly well. After all, it is not just brimming with loving detail and lively, colourful characters, but also breathes new life into the old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover”.

Marie Ketzscher