Sweet Like Lemons
acrylic paint on paper
year: 2023
format: DCP, HD
duration: 5'31"
production: Jenny Jokela
distribution: Bonobostudio
Countries of production: UK, Finland
More About the Film
Sweet Like Lemons takes the viewer on an emotional journey about leaving a harmful relationship behind. The title is a play on the saying “when life gives you lemons make lemonade”, only in this case there is no lemonade to be made but the lemons still taste sweeter than what you had before. Rather than traditional narrative, the movie uses surreal and symbolic (both figurative and through colour) language to visualise the complex emotions the protagonist goes through.
Direction, Animation, Producer, Screenplay: Jenny Jokela
Music: Sarah Playford
Sound Design: Adam Woodhams
Additional Writing: Celia Hillo
Jenny Jokela (1990) is a Finnish animation director and artist based in Edinburgh, UK. She graduated from MA Animation at Royal College of Art, London, in 2017. Her graduation film Barbeque (2017) won multiple awards including Cristal for best graduation film at Annecy 2018. Jenny works as self-employed animation director. In 2022 she collaborated with composer Sebastian Hilli, and made Hibernation, a hand-painted animation that was performed with live large ensemble around Europe. The premiere was in the Pompidou Centre in Paris in June 2022. She also directs children’s TV series; Hoppsorna (YLE, 2018-2022) and Arne Alligator (SF Studios, 2023-). Her commercial clients include BBC, Tate, Adult Swim, Channel 4, Disney, UEFA and Vogue.
Filmography
Sweet Like Lemons (2023), Live a Little (2018), Barbeque (2017, graduation film)
Awards
- Special Mention, Supertoon International Animation Festival 202
- Special Mention, Vrboska Film Festival 2024
- Best Animation Short, Minikino Film Week 2024
- Best Animation, Blue Danube Film Festival 2024
- Best Animation Craft, Canberra Short Film Festival 2024
Festivals
Annecy International Animation Festival (12/6-17/6/2023)
Anibar International Animation Festival (17/7-23/7/2023)
Guanajuato International Film Festival (20/7-31/7/2023)
Animaphix New Contemporary Languages Film Festival (25/7-30/7/2023)
Edinburgh International Film Festival (18/8-23/8/2023)
Turku Animated Film Festival (23/8-27/8/2023)
Helsinki International Film Festival Love and Anarchy (14/9-24/9/2023)
Ottawa International Animation Festival (20/9-24/9/2023)
Nordisk Panorama Film Festival (21/9-26/9/2023)
Lille International Short Film Festival, France (21/9-1/10/2023)
Viborg Animation Festival (25/9-1/10/2023)
Encounters Film Festival (27/9-1/10/2023)
Balkanima European Animated Film Festival (3/10-8/10/2023)
Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival (5/10-8/10/2023)
SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (5/10-15/10/2023)
LINOLEUM International Festival of Contemporary Animation and Media-art (4/10-8/10/2023)
Animest International Animation Film Festival (6/10-15/10/2023)
Primanima World Festival of First Animations (11/10-14/10/2023)
Belo Horizonte International Short Film Festival (13/10-22/10/2023)
Bucheon International Animation Festival (20/10-24/10/2023)
Bitbang International Animation, Videogames and Digital Art Festival (24/10-4/11/2023)
AFI FEST (25/10-29/10/2023)
Edinburgh Short Film Festival (26/10-5/11/2023)
Leeds International Film Festival (3/11-19/11/2023)
Manchester Animation Festival (12/11-17/11/2023)
Cinanima International Animated Film Festival (13/11-19/11/2023)
CutOut Fest (16/11-19/11/2023)
GIRAF International Festival of Independent Animation (16/11-19/11/2023)
London International Animation Festival (24/11-3/12/2023)
Animateka International Animated Film Festival (27/11-3/12/2023)
Tindirindis International Animation Film Festival (30/11-3/12/2023)
Sequence Short Film Festival (6/12-10/12/2023)
Paris International Animation Film Festival (17/1-21/1/2024)
British Shorts Film Festival, Berlin (18/1-24/1/2024)
Animac International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia (15/2-18/2/2024)
Anima Brussels International Animation Film Festival (23/2-3/3/2024)
Tehran International Animation Festival (3/3-7/3/2024)
Tricky Women/Tricky Realities Animation Festival (6/3-10/3/2024)
Monstra Lisbon Animated Film Festival (7/3-17/3/2024)
Festival d’un Jour (18/3-23/3/2024)
Glasgow Short Film Festival, Glasgow, UK (20/3-24/3/2024)
European Film Festival of Lille (5/4-10/4/2024)
Athens International Film + Video Festival (8/4-14/4/2024)
Filmfest Dresden (16/4-21/4/2024)
Melbourne International Animation Festival (5/5-12/5/2024)
Kino Otok - Isola Cinema International Film Festival (5/6-9/6/2024)
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (6/6-17/6/2024)
FEST - New Directors | New Films Festival (24/6-1/7/2024)
Fest Anča International Animation Festival (25/6-30/6/2024)
Wiesbaden International Festival of Animation (27/6-30/6/2024)
In the Palace International Short Film Festival (29/6-6/7/2024)
ShorTS International Film Festival (29/6-6/7/2024)
Psarokokalo Athens International Short Film Festival (2/7-12/7/2024)
Insomnia International Open-Air Animation Film Festival (17/7-22/7/2024)
Supertoon International Animation Festival (22/7-26/7/2024)
Vrboska Film Festival (6/8-8/8/2024)
Rooftop Film Summer Series (7/8/2024)
La Guarimba International Film Festival (7/8-12/8/2024)
Flipbook Film Festival, Skopje (8/8-11/8/2024)
Imaginaria International Animated Film Festival (18/8-24/8/2024)
ShortScape Film Festival (5/9-7/9/2024)
Minikino Film Week (13/9-20/9/2024)
The Smalls Film Festival (21/9-22/9/2024)
Festival of Nations, Lenzing (24/9-29/9/2024)
Blue Danube Film Festival (1/10-5/10/2024)
Videomedeja International New Media Art Festival (10/10-12/10/2024)
Experimental Film Guanajuato (16/10-19/10/2024)
Rex Animation Festival (28/10-3/11/2024)
Aesthetica Short Film Festival (6/11-10/11/2024)
24FRAMES Future Film Festival (6/11-10/11/2024)
Canberra Short Film Festival (6/11-20/11/2024)
Plum! International Animated Film Festival (15/11-17/11/2024)
Amarcort Film Festival (3/12-8/12/2024)
