Sep 21, 2015

Trill Kove on receiving the Norwegian Honor Award, her next film, and her personal identity

Academy Award winner Trill Kove did not consider animation as a profession until she was in her thirties. But even so, she recently won Norway's highest cultural award for her wonderful body of work. having moved to Canada from Norway in 1982, Kove has continued to make charming and distinctive animated short films for the National Film Production Board of Canada.

From his award-winning shorts "Me and My Moulton," "The Danish Poet," and "My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts" to his next film set in "a fictional place that could be anywhere," this Montreal-based animator has earned a reputation for poignant animated films that make audiences think and feel beyond geographical boundaries.

Cartoon Brew interviewed Cove via email after his awards tour in Oslo.

Cartoon Brew: Congratulations on winning the Anders Jahre Culture Prize!

Trill Covey: I was thrilled and still feel honored to receive such a prestigious and generous award. The award ceremony was wonderful. It was held in the hall of the University of Oslo, which is decorated with very large Edvard Munch paintings, and we actually covered the largest painting, "The Sun," with a screen and showed "The Danish Poet" over it. It was very impressive. I gave a speech and got a few laughs.

Cartoon Brew: Do you have any thoughts on being admired across borders?

Trill Kove: Most of my work, including the work I do in Canada with the National Film Board (NFB), is strongly tied to Norway: Norwegian producers, publishers, funding sources, collaborators. Even though I have lived in Montreal for many years, I feel strongly rooted in Norway, and even though I do not normally live in Norway, I find it truly wonderful that the Norwegian cultural community has embraced me. Nevertheless, it is no longer so unusual for people to have a sense of belonging to more than one country, whether in Canada or Norway. And of course, cross-border collaboration in filmmaking is quite common all over the world.

Cartoon Brew: Tell us about your next film, which I hear is set in Montreal: This film is not set in Montreal. This film is not set in Montreal, although there will eventually be such a film, but not at this time. The film is set in an imaginary place that could be anywhere. It is intended as a little visual homage to the alternating "dance" of coming closer and moving away that parents experience with their children as the bonds of attachment strengthen over time.

Cartoon Brew: Have you ever struggled with personal and national identity? I don't think much about personal and national identity when I work with the National Film Board of Canada, partly because my films are always co-produced with Norway. The National Film Board of Canada has a long history of working with non-Canadian filmmakers, and the stories in my films often cross borders, so I never worry about identity.

Cartoon Brew: Do you think other countries should follow the NFB model of supporting and funding challenging animation? This may not be a question about a specific NFB model. It is certainly a great model, but it is not the only model that produces great animation. I believe that countries that invest in culture as a matter of national policy enjoy the benefits of a rich cultural stew that includes both box office hits and quirky experimental films with small audiences. So my answer is that the state should have a cultural policy that fosters diversity in all the arts, including different kinds of films.

Cartoon Brew: What does your success say about animation as an art form or as a means of storytelling for those who have little or no art background but want to express themselves? I don't think my success says anything about animation as an art form. History is full of self-taught filmmakers, artists, writers, and musicians. Again, I think this says nothing about the art forms that untrained people have chosen to pursue, but it does say a lot about human nature and the desire to communicate something about our shared humanity.

Cartoon Brew: As we head into Oscar season here in the U.S., any thoughts on the international animation you've seen so far this year: I can't say anything about feature films yet. Also, I haven't been to any animation festivals recently, so I'm sad to say that I'm a bit of a mosquito when it comes to animated shorts this year. Popular films at animation festivals don't always make it to the Academy Awards. But sometimes they do.