Yngvild Sve Flikke’s quirky and partly animated dramedy Ninjababy has been selected for the Generation 14plus Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival 2021, where it will have its international premiere.
The first international audience to get to meet the Ninjababy and her mother Rakel (Kristine Kujath Torp) are the industry professionals and accredited press at EFM from 1-5 March, where an international jury will also decide on the prizes and announce the award winners.
-It's great fun for us who have made the film to be able to show Ninjababy at one of the world's most important film festivals, even with the virus in the air. It will be exciting to see how the international audience receive Rakel and the other characters' peculiarities - not least the mildly annoying Ninja baby. Our goal has been to make a fun film about a serious topic, so we hope for both laughter and tears, says director Yngvild Sve Flikke.
About Ninjababy
When Rakel (23), way too late, finds out she’s six months pregnant after a not-so-romantic one-night stand, her world changes. Her boyfriend, who’s not the father, is kind of ok with her having a baby. But Rakel is absolutely not ready to be a mother. Since abortion is no longer an option, adoption is the only answer. That’s when Ninjababy, an animated character who insists on making Rakel’s everyday life a living hell, turns up. He climbs out from her note book, jumps into her tea cup, and keeps reminding her what a terrible person she is.
Ninjababy is produced by Yngve Sæther for Motlys, with support from The Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Nordic distribution through Arthaus in Norway, TriArt in Sweden and Øst for Paradis in Denmark. International sales is handled by TrustNordisk.
Second time in Berlin
This is not Sve Flikke’s first Berlinale selection: In 2018, the series Home Ground of which she directed several episodes, was selected for the Berlinale Series Days.
Her debut feature Women In Oversized Men Shirts was furthermore selected for Göteborg Film Festival in 2015. Johan Fasting (Home Ground, 2018-2019), has written the screenplay for Ninjababy based on Inga H. Sætre’s graphic novel Fallteknikk (2011), which has won several Nordic literary awards.
Yngve Sæther (Beware Of Children, 2020; Force Majeure, 2014; Oslo, August 31st, 2011) produces for Norwegian production company Motlys (Home Ground, 2018-19; Thelma, 2017; Louder Than Bombs, 2015) and the film features an exciting cast of talented young actors, including up-and-coming Kristine Kujath Thorp (Betrayed, 2020), Arthur Berning (The Wave, 2015; In Order Of Disappearance, 2014) And Nader Khademi (Beforeigners, 2019).
Hopefully the start of a long journey
-This is great news, and very deserved for the film's two female frontrunners, director Yngvild Sve Flikke and the main character Kristine Kujath Thorp. Berlin is the world's second largest film festival, and hopefully this is the start of a long international journey for Ninjababy. It will be very exciting to get a response from an international youth jury this March, and then we look forward to showing the film, probably outdoors, at their public audience festival in Berlin in June, says producer Yngve Sæther in Motlys.
Expected local release for Ninjababy is 26 February 2021.
27.02.2021 | Berlin's blog