My favorite war, dir. Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen

My Favorite War is an animated documentary telling the personal story of its director, Ilze, about her growing up in the Cold-War USSR. It is an exciting coming-of-age story about finding one’s own identity, truth and loyalty. First, we meet Ilze as a little girl playing war at her granddad´s farm, then she is faced with the horror of war threats at school. Ilze lives in a clash between the Soviet reality and propaganda denying what people actually are experiencing. Moreover, Ilze also finds out how opposite in their beliefs are people whom she loves the most. The film is about choices a girl has to make in a very young age, then getting wiser and finding courage to speak out.

Awards

• Winner of Annecy Contrechamp Competition;
• French Critics Prize, Annecy;
• Special Distinction Prize, Bucheon IAFF (Korea);
• Grand Prix / Feature Films, New Chitose Animation Festival, Japan; 
• Best Animation Director, Best Animated Film, Latvian National Film Prize

Festivals 

• Norwegian International Film Festival;
• Fantoche International Animation Film Festival, Switzerland;
• Helsinki International Film Festival – Love & Anarchy, Finland;
• Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada;
• Warsaw Film Festival, Poland;
• Busan International Film Festival, Korea;
• Fredrikstad Animation Festival, Norway;
• Seville European Film Festival, Spain;
• New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival, Japan;
• Kerry International Film Festival, Ireland;
• Belfast Cinemagic Film and Television Festival, North Ireland;
• Nordic Film Days Lübeck, Germany;
• Ajyal Film Festival, Quatar;
• Animest International Animation Film Festival, Hungary;
• Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia;
• Free Zone Belgrade, Human Rights Film Festival, Serbia;
• Minsk International Film Festival Listapad, Belarus‍

‍

Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen

Latvian born film director living and working in both Norway and Latvia. She has done eight documentaries and more than 20 hours of TV animation-/ documentary series.

The last ten years Ilze, and her production company Bivrost Film, have worked on “My Favorite War” as well as on several animated documentary series for children with topics like abuse and violence. The documentary My Mother's Farm was screened in IDFA mid-length competition in 2009, it won the Best Latvian Documentary as well as Best TV Documentary in Norway. Her company’s TV animation-/ documentary series,  My Body Belongs to Me won an International Emmy Award in 2018.

Filmography

• 2020 - Mans milakais karš / My Favorite War, (animation, documentary) 
• 2019 - Grown-ups should never hit You;  producer (animation, documentary, series for children) 
• 2018  - My Body Belongs to Me; producer ( animation, documentary,  series for children)
• 2010 – 2020  - It’s Me you see, (creative documentary series for children)
• 2014 -  Norway + (documentary series for children)
• 2010 -  The Class Photography 2 (creative documentary)
• 2010 - Kleitas, mates un meitas / Dresses, Mothers, Daughters (creative documentary) 
• 2008 - My Mother´s Farm (creative documentary) 
• 2008 - Solvang News (creative documentary for children) 
• 2005 - Boys on the Bridge (documentary) 
• 2004  - The Scar from Norway (documentary)
• 2006 - Children meets Art (documentary) 
• 2005 - Nord & Fram (documentary) 
• 2000 -  The Class Photography (creative documentary)