IVALU – Flickerfest World Premiere

Arts & Entertainment Screen

Staff Writer
January 14, 2023

Image: IVALU. Image: film still

By MARTIN FABINYI

Anders Walter’s latest film, IVALU, has its world premiere at Flickerfest and is shortlisted for the 2023 Academy®Award for Best Live Action Short Film. His short HELIUM won that Academy® Award in 2014.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, IVALU is set in the wilds of Greenland, in a remote indigenous community. It’s a haunting story of loss and the destruction of innocence in the most extreme sense; a story of a young girl deeply impacted by the disappearance of her sister. In its subtle depiction of abuse in a close-knit society, it resonates with how such behaviour is tragically not uncommon in small indigenous communities.

Anders Walter on set. Image: supplied

Kim Magnusson (producer), Rebecca Pruzan (producer), Anders Walter (director). Image: supplied

Set in the most stunning icy scenery of Greenland, Anders and co-producer Rebecca Pruzan held zoom auditions from Denmark during covid with the eventual cast of newcomers Heilmann Kreutzmann (Pipaluk) and Nivi Larsen (Ivalu) bringing a luminous quality to their respective roles.

Given that the terrain was so intense, Anders says “We had a snow whisperer working for us, who could tell by the conditions whether it was safe to film or not. It was an intense shoot”.

Adds Rebecca “Both Hellmann and Nivi truly gave extraordinary performances which has elevated the film to such a standard to be accepted on the Academy® shortlist”.