MATTIAS MÄLK

The animator Mattias Mälk (born 1987) made his directing debut at Eesti Joonisfilm studio back in 2014 with the film noir monster movie ‘Northern Starfish’ where a diver-turned-detective has trouble with the stars and killer sea creatures.

Horror and comedy further crept into Mattias’ second animated short film ‘Strawberry Eaters’ (2018) where once again creatures get mixed up in love affairs.

Likewise, ‘Operation LARP’ (2023) kicks off with an affair and is Mattias’ most comedic animated short film to date as a silly mix-up leads soldiers to clash with larpers.

Mattias has also directed folklore-inspired animated short films ‘The Birth of Bears’ and ‘How a Girl Was Wed Three Times’ (2016) that tell fantastical tales from the Udmurt and Mari cultures.

Besides writing screenplays and directing, Mattias has worked at the studio as an inbetweener, animator, compositor and 3D artist.

Films:

2014 NORTHERN STARFISH (14’13″ / Eesti Joonisfilm)

2016 THE BIRTH OF BEARS. AN UDMURT STORY (2’33“ / Eesti Joonisfilm)

2016 HOW A GIRL WAS WED THREE TIMES. A MARI STORY (2’24“ / Eesti Joonisfilm)

2018 STRAWBERRY EATERS (14’39“ / Eesti Joonisfilm)

• Best Art Direction Award from Lanterna Mágica International Animation Festival, Brazil 2018
• Jury Special Mention for The Best Fantastic Movie in the International Festival of Animation Arts “Multivision”, Russia 2018

2023 OPERATION LARP (9 min 58 sec / Eesti Joonisfilm)

• Audience award from the Animation Volda Festival, Norway 2023