Fredrikstad Animation Festival 2020

Ivo Caprino's classic fairytale films

Expired October 28, 2020 10:59 PM
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2020 marks 100 years since one of the most significant figures in the history of Norwegian film was born. Through his work with puppet and animated films, Ivo Caprino has made an invaluable contribution to the Norwegian cultural heritage and holds a central position in the more than 100-year-long history of Norwegian animation.


Most famous amongst Caprino's works is the feature film Pinchcliffe Grand Prix, which to this day is the biggest box office success of all time in Norwegian cinemas. The film is based on characters created by author and humourist Kjell Aukrust, and was the first Norwegian animated feature film – only followed by a new all Norwegian animated feature film a whopping 23 years later. It is certainly no exaggeration to call the film legendary, and virtually all Norwegians maintain a special relationship with this childhood classic.


Also Caprino's short films are considered important works in Norwegian film history and have played a major role in how Norwegian folk tales are perceived today. To honour Ivo Caprino's legacy, we are showing a selection of his short films, as well as the legendary Pinchcliffe Grand Prix.

Norway missed a great opportunity, claimed Arne Hestenes of newspaper Dagbladet, when Little Frick and the Fiddle was not sent to the Cannes Film Festival in May 1952. Later that year the movie was awarded first prize at the Children's Cinema Festival in Venice. "This new art form had to go to Italy before the laurels started rustling in the wind", wrote Arne Bang Hansen at the time. When Swedish movie director Ingmar Bergman visited Caprino's film studio some years later, this was the movie he asked to have for his private collection. It was the first Caprino movie to be based on Norwegian folk tales, something that had never been done before.

  • Year
    1952
  • Runtime
    18:00
  • Country
    Norway
  • Director
    Ivo Caprino
  • Screenwriter
    Ivo Caprino
  • Producer
    Caprino Studios/Caprino Filmcenter
  • Cinematographer
    Finn Bergan, Sverre Bergli
  • Animator
    Ivo Caprino
  • Production Design
    Ingeborg Gude
  • Music
    Gunnar Sønstevold