ON WEARY WINGS GO BY
by Anu-Laura Tuttelberg​

11min | Estonia/Lithuania | 2024

A wintry poem about the Nordic nature.
The sun moves low and days get shorter. Birds fly South, porcelain animals and insects hide from the freezing wind and snow. Only a small porcelain girl wanders the abandoned landscape with no way out.
​
Original Title Linnud läinud
​Year of production 2024
Length 11'
Country Estonia/Lithuania
Shooting Format Paillard Bolex H16 REX-3
Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 ​
​Language No Dialogue

Director Anu-Laura Tuttelberg​
Production Fork Film, ART SHOT, Moon Birds Studios
Producer Marianne Ostrat
Co-producers Agne Adomene, Anu-Laura Tuttelberg
Writer Anu-Laura Tuttelberg​
Characters and Production Design Anu-Laura Tuttelberg
Cinematographers Anu-Laura Tuttelberg​, Francesco Rosso
Cinematographers in Studio Urmas Jõemees, Raivo Möllits
Key Animator Anu-Laura Tuttelberg​
Additional Animators Margrethe Danielsen, Olga Stalev, Hung Huei Jen
Production Assistants Daniel Irabien Peniche
Puppetmakers Anu-Laura Tuttelberg, Heigo Eeriksoo, Ene Mellow, Taivo Müürsepp, Patricia Rodrigues, Olga Stalev
Editors Daniel Irabien Peniche, Silvija Vilkaite-Ramanauske
Composer Maarja Nuut​
Sound Design Olga Bulygo                           
Image Post-production Studio Just Color
​Colorist Justinas Vencius

Festival selections
Locarno Film Festival 2024 - World Premiere
Helsinki International Film Festival - Love & Anarchy 2024, Finland
​CINEAST - Central and Eastern European Film Festival 2024, Luxembourg 
ReAnimania International Animation Film Festival of Yerevan 2024, Armenia
DOK Leipzig 2024, Germany - Golden Dove Award (Best Animated Short Film)
Denver Film Festival 2024, USA
Nordic Film Days Lübeck 2024, Germany
NY Baltic Film Festival 2024, USA
PÖFF Shorts (Black Nights Film Festival) 2024, Estonia
Piccolo Festival Animazione 2024, Italy
TOFUZI International Animated Film Festival 2024, Georgia - Best Film for Adults​ Award
​Cairo International Film Festival 2024, Egypt
​Carrefour du Cinéma d'Animation 2024, France
Animateka International Animated Film Festival 2024, Slovenia
The Shortest Days Film Festival 2024, Serbia - Best Short Film Award
​Dhaka International Film Festival 2025, Bangladesh
​Festival De Cine Global Santo Domingo 2025 - Special Mention
​CinéBaltique 2025, France
Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2025, USA
​Festival Anima, Brussels International Animation Film Festival 2025, Belgium - Special Jury Award
Tricky Women/Tricky Realities Animation Festival 2025, Austria - Maria Lassnig Golden Film Reel
Kino Pavasaris - Vilnius International Film Festival 2025, Lithuania
​Akbank Short Film Festival 2025, Turkey
​Festival Internacional de Cine Shorts Costa Rica 2025
​Kaboom Animation Festival 2025, Netherlands -Audience Award for the Best Experimental Film
​Festival International Music & Cinema Marseille 2025, France
​2ANNAS - Riga International Short Film Festival 2025, Latvia 
Filmfest Dresden 2025, Germany
​Florida Film Festival 2025, USA
Festival Internacional de Cine de Lebu 2025, Chile
Stop-eMotion Days in Venice 2025, Italy
Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film 2025, Germany
International Animation Film Festival (IAFF) Golden Kuker- Sofia 2025, Bulgaria
Seattle International Film Festival 2025, USA
​Melbourne International Animation Festival 2025, Australia
FEMCINE, Festival cine de Mujeres de Santiago de Chile 2025 - Best Short Film Award
SXSW London 2025, UK
​Animafest Zagreb 2025, Croatia - Golden Zagreb Award 
BEAST - International Film Festival 2025, Portugal
SouthSide Film Festival 2025, USA
The Norwegian Short Film Festival 2025
​ART FILM International Film Festival 2025, Slovakia
​Fest Anca 2025, Slovakia
​Palm Springs International ShortFest 2025, USA
ShorTS - International Film Festival 2025, Italy
​Syncro Film Fest 2025, Argentina
ANIMATOR - International Animated Film Festival 2025, Poland
​Malescorto - International Short Film Festival 2025, Italy
​Castiglioni Film Festival 2025, Italy
Guanajuato International Film Festival 2025, Mexico
​Anim sur le Lac 2025, Canada - Honorable Mention
Festival du Film Insolite de Rennes le Château 2025, France - Best Music Award
Animafest Cyprus 2025
​Animist Tallinn 2025, Estonia - Special Mention
Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival 2025, Brazil
​Golden Grape International Short Film Festival 2025, Georgia - Best Animation Sound Award
​Festival Internacional de Cinema de Bueu 2025, Spain
​i-Fest International Film Festival 2025, Italy
​​Drama International Short Film Festival 2025, Greece -Special Mention
​​OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival 2025, Ukraine
​KO:SH Film Fest 2025, Albania
​BLON Animation and Games Festival 2025, Lithuania
Minikino Film Week 2025, Indonesia
​​Sentiero Film Factory 2025, Italy
​​​Shorts Mexico 2025
​ANNY: Animation Nights New York 2025, USA
​Filmfestival Münster 2025, Germany
​ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival 2025, Greece
​Festival of Nations 2025, Austria - Special Mention
StopTrik Festival 2025, Slovenia - Stop Motion Animation Award (Maribor Student Jury​)
​Encounters Film Festival 2025 UK
​Filmfest Sundsvall 2025, Sweden
​​Curt'Arruda Film Festival 2025, Portugal
​Taichung International Animation Festival 2025, Taiwan
Primanima Festival 2025, Hungary
Fredrikstad Animation Festival 2025, Norway
Banjaluka International Animated Film Festival 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina
​Civitanova Film Festival 2025, Italy
​CineToro Experimental Film Festival 2025, Colombia
​​Festival Internacional de Curtas de Belo Horizonte 2025, Brazil
​VITAFEST - Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes 2025, Chile
Wiesbaden International Animation Festival 2025, Germany
​ALCINE Festival Internacional de Cine 2025, Spain
​Feinaki Beijing Animation Week 2025, China
Caminhos Film Festival 2025, Portugal
Hayah Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Panamá 2025
​​Blue Danube Film Festival 2025, Austria/Hungary/Slovakia
​​​New York City Short Film Festival 2025, USA
London International Animation Festival 2025, UK - Best of the Festival Award
T-Short Animated Films 2025, Germany - Best Bizarre Animation Award
Sardinia Film Festival 2025, Italy
ANIMARIO, Festival Internacional de Animación Contemporánea de Madrid 2025, Spain
Paris International Animation Film Festival 2026, France - Prix de la vision
​Smita Patil International Film Festival 2026, India
​​Barcelona Indie Awards 2026, Spain
​ANIMAC – Muestra Internacional de Cine de Animación de Cataluña 2026, Spain
İFSAK Short Film Festival 2026, Turkey
Animovies at the Festival of Animated Objects 2026, Canada
Anilogue International Animation Festival 2026, Hungary
Athens Animfest​ 2026, Greece
​Prague Film Festival 2026, Czech Republic
​
Website
Instagram
​
Director's Statement
On Weary Wings Go By is a stop-motion film shot in nature with porcelain puppets as characters.
The film expresses the arrival of winter in the Nordic nature. The sun moves low above the horizon, the days get shorter and shorter. Linnud läinud... is the beginning of a proverb
in Estonia that describes the birds leaving and giving way for the winter to come.
The film was shot throughout 3 winters on the North coasts of Estonia and Norway. The porcelain puppets were animated outdoors in nature. While I was animating one shot at a time from sunrise to sunset those 3 winters are concentrated into the 10-minute short film to show one season in the life of the porcelain creatures.
While animating puppets in nature the light conditions change constantly in the background.
The smooth animation of the puppets versus the hectic changing nature around them creates a peculiar presence of time passing by rapidly and brings out the essence and charm of the stop-motion technique
The film is shot with an old 16 mm Bolex camera.
The 16 mm film gives a special feeling of materiality and texture to the film.
It is the second film in a composition of three films depicting different seasons. The first film Winter In The Rainforest (2019) shot in the Mexican jungle was about the summer season, On Weary Wings Go By is about autumn and winter, and finally, the third film will be about spring.

---