Interview with BAFTA nominated Animator Ida Melum

Ida Melum is an EE BAFTA and BIFA-nominated, Annie and RTS award-winning animation director based mostly in Sweden.

She is an alumna of the distinguished MA Directing Animation program on the Nationwide Movie and Tv Faculty, the place she graduated with the stop-motion movie ‘Evening of the Residing Dread’. The movie was nominated for a BAFTA for Greatest Brief Animation, received an Annie Award in 2023 and was chosen for over 90 festivals worldwide, and received over 25 awards.

Her upcoming stop-motion brief, ‘Ovary-Performing’, was supported by each the Norwegian and Swedish Movie Institute and had its world premiere at Tribeca Movie Pageant 2025. The movie was additionally chosen for Official Competitors at Annecy Worldwide Animation Movie Pageant 2025, and 50 different festivals so far.

Her different credit embrace working as an animator on acclaimed tasks such because the BAFTA-winning ‘Poles Aside’ and ‘Dealing with It’ and the BBC nature documentary ‘Attenborough’s Surprise of Tune’. In 2022 she was additionally employed to create and direct the pageant trailer for Fredrikstad Animation Pageant 2022.

Along with her work as a filmmaker and animator, Ida has served on a number of movie pageant juries, utilizing her expertise and perspective to help and have fun rising voices in animation.

1. Describe a typical day for you?

It actually relies upon, haha. Being a contract director, my ‘typical’ day modifications each 4 months or so. In the meanwhile, I`m on maternity depart, however simply 6 months in the past I used to be working from dwelling, animating and comping the final photographs collectively on our movie Ovary-Performing. And 6 months earlier than that I used to be in Norway, on set, taking pictures the stop-motion a part of the movie.

Some issues are fixed although. My husband will at all times brew me a cup of espresso once we’re collectively, which is simply the easiest way to get up within the morning (so spoiled). We at all times make certain to eat dinner collectively too. Now with our 7-month-old daughter, we at all times attempt to have some playtime as a household, normally on the lounge carpet. It’s a really pretty approach to decelerate after a busy work day.

2. What are you most pleased with to-date?

Effectively, a factor that occurred lately was that I ended up having my first child the identical two weeks as I used to be wrapping my newest brief movie. Trying again I`m extremely grateful and pleased with my workforce, and the way they dealt with the state of affairs, in addition to my husband and household who had been such an unimaginable help community. All people made positive we bought via it as seamlessly as attainable, and issues went so effectively that I used to be again working 4 days after beginning, and we wrapped the movie in time to achieve our Tribeca movie pageant deadline.

3. What’s in your purse/ satchel?

I`m a diehard bumbag gal, which doesn’t have a lot in it tbh. However I hardly ever depart with out my chapstick and my purple lipstick.

4. What do you want you’d recognized firstly of your profession you now know?

Hindsight is at all times 20-20, however I believe I want I’d spent much less time attempting to please everybody with my work. Now, some years later and with extra expertise underneath my belt, I really feel far more assured, each as an individual and as a director. I`ve realized to belief my intention with my movies and hopefully it resonates with individuals, but when it doesn’t, that’s OK too.

5. The place do you see your self in 5 years time?

Hopefully with my arms stuffed with each participating inventive tasks and household shenanigans. Possibly in a home with a backyard – I wouldn’t say no to that.

6. What recommendation would you give a budding animator/filmmaker?

My recommendation can be to attempt to encompass your self with individuals who imagine in you and your concepts. And, once you do find yourself discovering them,  to carry on to them. Discovering your inventive collaborators is so particular, and much more uncommon than one would assume.

7. What was the inspiration behind your brilliantly participating and essential brief Ovary-Performing?  

After I was approaching my late twenties I used to be no stranger to the subject. Lastly, after many awkward conversations about once I’d lastly have youngsters, I began to marvel: did I really need kids for myself, or was it simply what individuals anticipated of me? And the stress wasn’t simply coming from the individuals round me. I realised I had been placing that stress on myself as effectively, and by no means let myself even contemplate the rest. That was what led me to wish to make Ovary-Performing.

8. How lengthy did it take to make the movie and what hurdles did it’s important to overcome?

We spent about 2 years pitching and making use of for funding earlier than we secured your complete finances. Then we spent a couple of yr and half truly making the movie. One of many largest hurdles was the size of the puppets. Because of the restrictions on our taking pictures house, the puppets might solely be a sure measurement, which made Ovy, the protagonist puppet 4 ½ centimeters, which I imagine is simply an inch and a half. From an animator’s perspective, that could be very daunting. Particularly as Ovy needed to be this massive, daring, bigger than life character. Fortunately for me I had my nice good friend and collaborator Wealthy Farris on board. He and our unimaginable voice actor Sofia Oxenham did such a tremendous job bringing Ovy to life, making her the bubbly, naive, but charming character the story wanted her to be.

9. Ladies can really feel they lose company over their ovaries of their 30s, which you addressed completely within the movie, how has your message been obtained? Has any suggestions shocked you? I do know I shocked myself as a younger filmmaker who grew to become broody in a single day at 27 and to a big extent, to the detriment of my first profession, why did this subject material, matter to you?

The response to the movie has been above and past what I dared to want for. Audiences have been so variety and beneficiant, each of their response to the movie but in addition sharing their very own private tales with us. The workforce and I felt the story was related once we first began creating it in 2021, however by the point we completed the movie, the political panorama had shifted a lot that it had change into much more well timed.

The movie was made by a bunch of ladies from totally different nations, backgrounds, and sexualities – some who’ve youngsters, some who’re contemplating it, some who don’t need kids, and others whose path to motherhood seems very totally different to the characters depicted. Watching the hard-won rights to girls’s bodily autonomy be rolled again so simply is scary, and it’s one thing that weighed closely on us all through the method.

At its core, the movie explores the stress society places on girls to change into moms – and to suit a really particular concept of what motherhood ought to appear to be. As somebody who skilled that stress, I wished to make an entertaining movie that will additionally spark some essential conversations, which we so desperately want proper now, particularly in a second when the rallying cry of, “our physique, our selection” feels extra pressing than ever.

10. Lastly, happiness is…

Spending time with my household, and making movies with my associates.

Headshot picture credit score: Taylor Shulin

Movie nonetheless credit score: Klipp & Lim, Jante Movies & Apparat Filmproduktion.