interviews Alone in space Chuskit Journal The Invisibles No. 1 | 2019 Binti February Photo: ALONE IN SPACE www.ecfaweb.org INDEX EDITORIAL 3 ALONE IN SPACE Interview What unites us… 5 Nominations for the ECFA Awards … is in the focus of ECFA’s work, not what separates The difficulties we’re having to crop all information 8 CHUSKIT us. In these times, now that Great Britain is about in the ECFA Journal’s usual size and format, is an Interview to step out of the EU and populism and national- indication of the variety and richness of our mem- ism are on the rise in Europe, questioning ideas and bers’ activities. The article on involving children in 11 Film pitching with children ideals is more important than ever. I am very happy pitching sessions proves that also within our indus- that this mindset is shared by so many in the chil- try there is still a lot to try out and explore. Like, 13 BINTI – On the set dren’s film sector! A warm welcome to the fifteen finding various ways to make children participate new members who joined ECFA in 2018 and the five in the creative processes (co-creation, which is also 15 APOLLO JAVAKHETI who have already joined during the first month of the main topic of discussion in this year’s KIDS Re- DoxSpot the new year! gio Meeting Point during the Berlinale) and thus strengthening, again, generation-equality. 16 KIDS ON THE SILK ROAD: HORSE FEVER A lot of work is ahead of us – especially shaping the Interview new Creative Europe Programme, raising awareness In this sense, we wish you a wonderful 2019. Stay for the need of high quality children’s media and curious, brave & productive! 18 FILMS ON THE HORIZON thus for more generation-equality among other Eu- ropean associations (such as distributors, cinemas, I am very much looking forward to seeing you all at 20 COPS AND ROBBERS Short Cut producers) and politicians. Furthermore we want to the AGM on 9th February in Berlin. continue creating opportunities for you all to meet 21 THE INVISIBLES and exchange. – Interview Margret Albers ECFA President 24 Dutch Features hits the market Production 25 doxs! industry exchange 26 ESTONIAN CHILDREN’S FILMS Production 28 MATTI AND SAMI AND THE THREE BIG- GEST MISTAKES IN THE UNIVERSE Interview 2 | Journal 01 | 2019 INTERVIEW Ted Kjellsson about ALONE IN SPACE “Gimme two kids, an alien and a spaceship and I’ll make a great movie” A giant spacecraft traveling with only none Swedish person to recognise A spaceship? two passengers on board: 12-year-old Astrid Lindgren in this film, but she is Kjellsson: In a studio, up north in Swe- Gladys and her little brother Keaton, just in our DNA. We tell stories about den. It was important for the kids to lingering around all day, heading to- the same themes, making them a bit have a set with buttons and beepers wards a planet that never seems to darker, but still quite enjoyable. A and stuff to touch, instead of green come in sight. Until an unknown ob- Swedish children’s film in a sci-fi con- screens. And we made the alien for ject crashes into the ship… Suddenly text might sound like something new, real, so the kids could see and feel it they are not alone in space anymore. but it’s just a mashup of ingredients and talk to it. from our childhood. In our heads this ALONE IN SPACE has an original for- combination doesn’t seem surprising The design of the alien was crucial mat: a high-profile sci-fi adventure at all. for this film. It’s a human figure with that is both epic (a space odyssey), in- limbs and clothes, it laughs and ap- timate (two siblings in a close bond), A lot of the film’s attraction is in parently snores exactly like I do. scary (aliens firing space guns) and the setting that you created from Kjellsson: We wanted a humanoid cre- way. contemplative. scratch. ature. Surprisingly enough, my first Kjellsson: We’ve put a lot of effort Kjellsson: For Swedish standards the reference was Nosferatu, later com- in making them shine. Little Keaton Ted Kjellsson: I like the ‘Astrid Lind- €2 million budget was quite modest. bined with the classic Area 51 alien (Dante Fleischanderl) has quite a hard gren in space’ tagline. Both co-au- I have done a lot of commercials and (that was supposedly found in the part, hitting the alien in the head thor Henrik Ståhl and me grew up on I know about set design and special American Nevada desert), a bit of Ad- and still be likeable. Gladys (Ella Rae Swedish children’s literature by Astrid effects. I know how to build stuff and miral Ackbar (STAR TREK) combined Rappaport) carries the movie on her Lindgren, Maria Gripe, Ulf Stark… At how to blow up stuff. It was a matter with the fifties comic book visuals. shoulders and she pulls it off – like a the same time we were fed with big of producers fully trusting us. I saw We wanted him to be part scary, part Pippi Longstocking in space! She such Hollywood movies made by Steven the images in my head and nobody cute. Some even see ET in it, but I a cool character, in an Ellen Ripley- Spielberg and Ridley Scott. thought it would be doable, but we’ve don’t. I love ET, but he is a small nu- kind-of-way. Ripley, as the first fema- build the first Swedish animatronics dist. le action hero for me, was a milesto- How did you make those worlds mask Vfx for a main character, and a ne. I want to show my daughters and meet? 600 square meters big space ship. There’s two siblings, taking care of other young girls that they can kick Kjellsson: It might be difficult for a each other in a particularly touching ass. To make those main characters 3 | Journal 01 | 2019 INTERVIEW it’s a risk to take. less scary and the aliens a bit more funny, talking in a Jabba the Hutt kind What about the framework of the of way. story, the escape from planet earth? Kjellsson: The reason why they esca- There must have been a temptation pe is a classic chain: an environmental to make it scary as hell, just for the catastrophe leading to war leading fun of it. to poverty… We never go into detail Kjellsson: This is my first feature, and about it, but it is connected to the en- I felt well-placed to make it a child- vironmental situation we are in today. ren’s movie: I have five kids myself, An even bigger mystery is the role of and I can still relate to my inner child. the mother. She stole a spaceship to But deep inside I’m more of a slasher rescue herself and her kids, which is a guy. My time will come when I’ll do my work, we recorded half of the movie in animatronic. Their collaboration with harsh thing to do. But now she’s gone, first slasher movie. chronological order. That made them Henrik was one of the key elements and nobody knows how and why, lea- truly experience the story. Their first to make the film work, together with ving behind a daughter who has diffi- You have ‘Johnny Be Good’ on the meeting with the alien, really was the the kids being in a real spaceship. It culties to cope with it. There’s more soundtrack, because that song is first time they saw Henrik in that suit. all related to my first pitch, when I to the mother than you see in the film, on the golden record (that was said: “Gimme two kids, an alien and a she’s complex. sent into space in 1977 containing Henrik? You forced your co-author spaceship and I’ll make a great movie”. sounds and images to illustrate hu- into a suit to play an alien? Everything comes back to that. The final chase through the man life and culture on earth). What Kjellsson: Yup. He felt honoured, but spaceship, with aliens firing space would be on your golden record? in the end he had to go through a lot You did something daring and got weapons at humans, is state-of-the- Kjellsson: Some really weird Swedish of training so that his neck could lift away with it: you made the first 15 art sci-fi. How did you dose that jokes, combined with a very perso- the six kilogram heavy helmet for minutes of the film about being bo- excitement for a 7+ audience? nal environmental message, like “Hé eight hours per day, 15 days long. I red, without getting the audience Kjellsson: Some seven-year-olds have guys, don’t do what we did. Take it easy somehow stopped noticing Henrik in bored. seen lots of stuff, but since this is in out there.” there, I was directing the alien and Kjellsson: We’re demanding a lot of their own language, it suddenly feels – forgot about that sweaty actor inside. our young audience, but most of them very close. We’re on a thin line there Gert Hermans I saw my dream coming true to have enjoy those 15 minutes, because they between scary and too scary. In the an alien on set, which was fun for me, feel some tension and mystery under- first test screenings we had a lot of but not for Henrik.