About the project

Kaoru Furuko’s work is inspired by the traditional folk tales of the country she resides in at that moment. So far, these countries have been Vietnam, Sweden, India, Lithuania – and now Slovakia. Using locally sourced found and collected materials from the area of her interest, she lets the objects she uses for animation determine the spirit of the film. During the production, she recomposes the materials and observations she has collected to create a new whole. Kaoru feels that she’s both led by and conducting the objects she finds. Her unique approach results in a fresh, playful style of animation without boundaries.

As part of the process of turning the fairy tales into animated films “in situ”, Kaoru often works with local artists and residents. For her Košice film, she has been co-operating with children from local schools and at the city’s children’s and youth library (through drawing workshops, creating props for the film), local writers and artists (on developing the script and storyboard), and with a local musician, who is composing music for the film.