TALLINN: Latvian animator/director Anna Zača is currently in postproduction with the puppet animation Nesting / Ligzda, which is the first short animated film produced by all three Baltic countries. The film plays figuratively and attractively on the changes in the life of a young couple from the moment a crib appears at home.
A young couple is expecting their first baby. At first the upcoming changes in their life seem more exciting and less disruptive, but as time goes on they become more drastic. The fears related to pregnancy seem to affect mainly the woman, while it seems like nothing is changing in the man’s life. Everything takes a completely different turn the moment the couple brings a baby crib home.
“We liked the idea of the film since about half of the viewers can relate to the story from their own experiences. And this topic is usually not covered by animation. Anyway, good idea, good story and challenging technique – this is pretty much everything you can expect from a film. This was quite a demanding project from the very beginning as both the characters (male and female) had to go through a certain life-changing stage and it had to be reflected by the puppets. It was a challenge to create, and we are happy that it was successful and the director was pleased with the result”, Estonian producer Kerdi Oengo from Nukufilm OÜ told FNE.
Līva Vernere and Uldis Cekulis are producing through VFS FILMS (Latvia) in coproduction with Kerdi Oengo through Nukufilm OÜ (Estonia) and Justė Michailinaitė through Broom Films (Lithuania).
The project is financed by the National Film Centre of Latvia, the Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, the Estonian Film Institute, the Estonian Cultural Endowment, Creative Europe MEDIA, the Estonian cash rebate system, the Lithuanian Film Centre, and Film Tax Incentive of the Republic of Lithuania.
The film’s total budget is around 324,000 EUR.
The shooting began in the summer of 2025 in Estonia and is now being completed in mid-March 2026. The filming process took quite a long time, as the production could only shoot one setup at a time due to the complex construction of the puppets.
As a stop-motion project, it is tricky to work in different countries, so the whole puppet and set production were carried out in Estonia, as well as the whole filming process.
In Lithuania, the production will include 2D and 3D animation, as well as music composition, sound design and sound postproduction.
Production Information:
Producer:
VFS FILMS (Latvia)
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Coproducers:
Nukufilm OÜ (Estonia)
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Broom Films (Lithuania)
Credits:
Director: Anna Zača
Scriptwriter: Anna Zača
Animation artist: Oskars Pavlovskis
DoP: Ragnar Neljandi
Animator: Triin Saparik-Kivi, Marili Sokk
Editor: Armands Začs
Composer: Vygintas Kisevicius
Sound designer: Justinas Štaras
2D/3D Animation Supervisor: Antanas Skučas
