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Congratulations to Alt Animation, their animation partners Studio Meala, and the whole ‘To Break A Circle’ team on their win of the James Horgan Award for Best Animation Short at the 36th Galway Film Fleadh.
The film tells the story of the destruction of an ancient stone circle in an isolated Irish town. Dealing with themes of environmental conservation and youthful isolation, it is a timely film that demonstrates the power of stories to shape the relationships communities have with their environment. The ambitious hand-drawn film was produced as part of Northern Ireland Screen’s Creative Animation Scheme which supports aspiring Directors’ careers. The film received funding through the scheme from Northern Ireland Screen and the British Film Institute. It marks the directorial debut of Kalia Firester and was written by Dara McWade and Kalia Firester.
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ALT Animation, building off its extensive work in animated children’s content for clients such as Avalon, Milkshake!, and CBBC, was eager to produce this film as an opportunity to work in an exciting new artistic style. The studio teamed up with Ireland’s award-winning Studio Meala and was able to bring the rich and tactile style of ‘To Break A Circle’ to life. The studios are also currently co-producing the hand-drawn animated series ‘Doodle Girl’ for RTÉ Jr.
Award Winning and Ivor Novello nominated composers Eimear Noone and Craig Stuart Garfinkle have composed the original score for the film. Eímear and Craig have composed scores for box office-topping films and triple-A video games. Eimear is also a renowned conductor, having performed with the Royal Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra, among many others. In 2020 she became the first female
conductor ever to perform at the Academy Awards. Eímear and Craig were delighted to come on board to create a rich musical landscape for the film.
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ALT Animation is proud of ‘To Break A Circle’ and feels it is an outstanding debut from an exciting young director. We are excited to see the film at the Galway Film Fleadh which has such a strong tradition of bringing together audiences & filmmakers from around the world to celebrate their passion for filmmaking.
For more information see the ALT Animation website