August 17
11:00
Kinomaja Uus 3
Length 120 min

The animated films by Natalia Mirzoyan, an artist and filmmaker of Armenian origin residing in Estonia, are light and playful in form, but at the same time, they carry existential depth. Whether the characters are an ant, a child longing to swim or Santa Claus, they all convey a universal message. The animations are enjoyable for both children and adults.

After the screening, Natalia will give a drawing workshop where we will experiment with different materials, textures, and the behaviour of materials on different papers, and work with spontaneous composition and movement in sketching. We will also talk about the importance of sketching and look at some nice artists.

Please take your sketchbook, papers with different textures and a variety of pencils. At the workshop, we will also share some drawing materials.

Natalia Mirzojan

Natalia Mirzoyan is an animation director and artist based in Estonia. She was born in Armenia, Yerevan. She studied Sociology in Yerevan and Graphic art at the St. Petersburg Institute for Decorative and Applied Art. She worked in the animation studio “Petersburg” as an animator and then as a director, involved both in commercial and independent projects.

Her films “My Childhood Mystery Tree” (2009), “Chinti” (2012), “Five Minutes to Sea” (2018) and “Merry Grandmass” (2020) were selected for many festivals, including Berlinale, Annecy, Zagreb, and Hiroshima, and won numerous prizes.

Currently, Natalia is studying in EKA at the Department of Animation and has started her first stop-motion film.

Chinti

Director: Natalia Mirzoyan
Year: 2012
Length: 8:00
Country: Russia
Production: “Peterburg” Animation Studio

Synopsis:
An independent-minded ant defies his colony and dedicates his life to pursuing his dreams.

Five Minutes to Sea

Director: Natalia Mirzoyan
Year: 2018
Length: 7:07
Country: Russia
Production: “Peterburg” Animation Studio

Synopsis:
The mother issues her decree: before you get back in the water, you have to take a break and sit quietly for five minutes. For the little girl, these five minutes are an ocean of boredom that stretches on forever and ever.

Merry Grandmas!

Director: Natalia Mirzoyan
Year: 2020
Length: 8:08
Country: Russia
Production: Soyuzmultfilm

Synopsis:
On New Year’s Eve, parents bring a little girl named Masha to her grandmother who lives in the centre of Saint Petersburg. Masha anticipates an extremely boring evening with grandma and her elderly friends, but things turn out quite differently. Crafted in a wonderfully naive style, this film is a loving depiction of Russian grandmas, their vanishing world, and New Year magic set in the old quarters of Saint Petersburg.

Giraffe

Director: Natalia Mirzoyan
Year: 2022
Length: 2:34
Country: Russia
Production: Soyuzmultfilm

Synopsis:
An episode from the almanack “The Silver Age” is based on a poem by Nikolai Gumilev. African exoticism is combined with sad images of modern heroes, whom nothing can please.