The Celebration of Life’s Little Joys in Torill Kove’s Films
The Celebration of Life’s Little Joys in Torill Kove’s Films
Torill Kove is a multi-awarded director whose films have left an everlasting mark on the world of animated cinema. Through her work at the National Film Board of Canada, Kove has turned local characters from her childhood into universal heroes while exploring profound, heartfelt subjects that connect with audiences of all ages. This edition of the Curator’s Perspective is devoted to Kove’s influential animation and its enduring celebration of life’s little joys, family and the search for belonging.
For starters, the NFB invites you to watch Kove’s seminal film The Danish Poet (2006), which earned 20 awards at major film festivals and markets across the globe—not to mention the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 2007. “Can we trace the chain of events that leads to our own birth? Is our existence just coincidence? Do little things matter?” The narrator of The Danish Poet considers these questions as we follow Kasper, the film’s main character, a poet whose creative well has run dry, on a holiday to Norway to meet a famous writer.
The Danish Poet, Torill Kove, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
A Norwegian in Montreal, and a Graduate of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
Kove was born in Hamar, Norway, to international aid-worker parents who brought her to Africa while she was still in her teens.[i] She moved to Montreal in 1982 and completed an animation degree from Concordia University a decade later, winning the Kodak Award for her end-of-the-year student film.[ii] Before directing her five acclaimed animated shorts, she earned her first NFB credits as an animator for the series Multiple Choices by Alison Burns, where Kove’s signature style is easily identified in the animated capsules that open each of the 10 episodes.
Multiple Choices – Loves Me Loves Me Not, Alison Burns, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Kove’s International Breakthrough: 1999–2006
Just three years later, Kove’s journey as a director at the NFB began with her film My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts (1999), which received dozens of accolades and awards worldwide, including her first Academy Award nomination. Kove established her unique storytelling style in this short, including a sense of humour that emotionally resonates with audiences, enchanting the day-to-day lives of unique characters from her own childhood. Apart from presenting her grandmother’s humble profession, Kove finds joy and beauty in the daily tasks she performed, conveying a universal message about how small, quotidian moments can create lasting happiness and a sense of connection.
My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts, Torill Kove, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts was followed by her Oscar-winning 2006 film, The Danish Poet (featured above), which also revolves around how life’s unexpected turns can lead us to meaningful connections and unforeseen joy and fulfillment.
The 2010s: Family Dynamics and Parental love
Kove’s next film with the NFB was Me and My Moulton (2014), which reflects her own childhood experiences growing up in a family of seven. One summer in mid-sixties Norway, a seven-year-old girl asks her parents if she and her sisters can have a bicycle. Me and My Moulton provides a glimpse of its young protagonist’s thoughts as she struggles with her sense that her family is slightly out of sync with what she perceives as “normal.” Observing her best friend’s family, the girl compares their domestic perfection to her unusual household. Her loving yet out-of-touch parents prove to be a source of embarrassment and anxiety for her. This film explores the challenge of wanting to fit in while also grappling with the uniqueness of one’s background and family dynamics.
Me and My Moulton, Torill Kove, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
In 2017, Kove made Threads, in which she examines the beauty and complexity of parental love. Kove’s delicate animation style brings to life the vibrant threads that symbolize the bonds between family, illustrating how love can be both fragile and resilient. The act of sewing becomes a powerful metaphor for the ways in which we stitch our lives together, creating a tapestry of shared experiences and memories. As the mother and daughter make a quilt together, they engage in heartfelt conversations that reflect their struggles and joys. The film captures the bittersweet nature of growing up and the inevitable changes that come with it, yet it emphasizes the enduring connections that bind us.
Threads, Torill Kove, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
Uplifting Cinema: Celebrating the Small Things
Kove’s masterful storytelling style naturally evokes emotions in her audiences, and her films often make use of minimalist aesthetics, allowing the viewer to focus on the essence of the story rather than be distracted by overly complex visuals.
Maybe Elephants (2024), Kove’s most recent masterpiece, coming to NFB.ca in the new year, is a nostalgic look at her memories of family trips, teen escapades and moments of adolescent epiphany (in the link below you can check out the film’s trailer).
Maybe Elephants, Torill Kove, provided by the National Film Board of Canada
As noted, Kove’s films reflect on the everyday moments, engaging viewers while simultaneously inviting them into the protagonist’s emotional world. The depth of her work resonates with diverse audiences because the films articulate feelings that are often left unspoken. This resonance is particularly important in a world where storytelling serves not only as entertainment but as a means of connection and understanding. Kove’s films stand out as testament to the power of animation to convey complex emotions and experiences in an accessible manner. Kove’s films help us value life’s challenges, as they ultimately trigger personal joy, a sense of wellness, and growth. Kove’s five films are unique capsules of bliss!
[i] https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/torill-kove
