^{Credit: Ovary-Acting (Ida Melum)}

Ida Melum won Best Student Film at the 2022 Annie Awards for Night of the Living Dread, which also got nominated for a BAFTA. She brings a similar wide-eyed style and wit to Ovary-Acting, which has qualified for consideration at the 98^th Academy Awards. This stop-motion animated short follows Eva, a thirty-something contemplating whether or not she ever wants to have kids. She not only faces pressure from her elders, but her own reproductive organs named Ovy. Cartoon Contender spoke with Melum about the film’s big musical number, how the story’s themes mirror the real world, and if we can expect Ovy merch anytime soon. 

^{Credit: Ida Melum}

Q: How did your last short, Night of the Living Dread, for which you won an Annie Award, prepare you to make Ovary-Acting?

A: When I was making Night of the Living Dread, I had mostly made films on my own or in very small teams up to that point. To go from that to having a team of over fifteen head of departments, who were all experts in their own fields, was daunting to say the least. The learning curve was very intense and incredibly steep. Luckily, I had such a good team who were not just talented, but also great people who I'm lucky to call my friends today. With them by my side, I started to find my voice as a director. Personally, I can see such a difference in myself between the films, which is really cool. Making Dread helped me become more confident as a director, which led me to make bolder choices on Ovary-Acting. 

Q: I noticed that the protagonists in your shorts often have distinct hair colors. In Night of the Living Dread, Ruby’s was blue. In Ovary-Acting, Eva’s is a pinkish purple. What do you think hair colors tell us about the characters?

A: Good question, haha. First of all, I think using strong hair colors is visually striking and captivating, and makes the characters more memorable. Also, the bold hair colors are a great way to make them distinct in their own ways, as the puppets otherwise will look a bit too similar, as they have been designed to belong to the same universe. In addition, the colors represent some of the themes in the films, too. Ruby was a marine biologist who loved the sea and all the creatures in it, while Eva deals with literal ovaries and reproductive rights, and we wanted her and Ovy to have a visual link to each other, which is why Eva's hair and Ovy’s body are very similar. 

Q: How did you find your unique stop-motion style, which is present in Night of the Living Dread and Ovary-Acting?

A: The short answer is a lot of testing. I’ve made so many short films over the years, and before I had either a team or a budget, it was just me designing and building everything. I think almost all my previous films had their own visual style, which I think showed that I was still trying to find it. It actually wasn’t until we discovered this t-shirt material that we used as the skin for the puppets, and combining stop-motion and 2D features on Night of the Living Dread, that things started to click. It gave this perfect level of warmth and tactileness, without being too busy or distracting. The big eyes with the 2D smearing on top made the characters both comedic and expressive, which I think really suits the narratives and the pace of my films. Adding the facial features later also made my animation better because it forced me to be less precious and rely so much more on body language. Slowly but surely, things started to fall into place. Having found the style on Night of the Living Dread, I wanted to expand on it further in Ovary-Acting. The eyes became even bigger, and we went bolder with the 2D as well. 

Q: Laura Jayne Tunbridge wrote Ovary-Acting. She was also a co-writer on Night of the Living Dread. What can you tell me about your collaboration with her?

A: I feel so lucky that I've been able to make two films with Laura at this point. She is just such a talented and brilliant writer, and now a dear friend. I think we work well together because we both have a passion for stories with a lot of heart. We are also both complete goofballs, which makes the collaborations really fun and easy. For both Night of the Living Dread and Ovary-Acting, I had the cornerstones of the ideas, but it's Laura who's able to take those ideas and translate them into words and give it structure. She's been crucial to both my films, and I hope I get to make many more films with her in the future. 

^{Credit: Ovary-Acting (Ida Melum)}

Q: How did the film’s Fred Astaire-esque musical number by Alastair McNamara come up? 

A: I'll admit I’m not entirely sure where the idea first came from, but from the moment I had it, it became non-negotiable. It was the silliest thing I could think of, which made me want to include it even more. With my theatre background, I’ve always been a fan of musicals, so the back-and-forth between Eva and Ovy felt like the ideal moment for them to break into song. Instead of simply watching them argue, we thought, why not have them tap-dance through it as well? And being compared to Fred Astaire is such a compliment - thank you! 

Finding the right style, both visually and musically, was crucial, as we wanted the musical number to feel a part of the rest of the film. Luckily, I had the chance to collaborate closely with the super-talented Alastair McNamara, who composed the number. He nailed the melody on only the second version. Him and Laura worked so closely together too, making sure the song wasn’t just a catchy tune, but also conveyed everything we needed narratively and thematically within the lyrics. And our main composer, Joseph Stevenson, did an incredible job on the arrangement as well. They all smashed it. 

The visual style was shaped by our production designer, Svein Erik Okstad, who played a huge role in bringing the sequence to life by paying homage to classic Hollywood numbers. He also has a long background in live-action puppeteering, something I’ve always wanted to try, and this felt like the perfect moment to introduce another technique. Ultimately, the musical number became this wonderfully over-the-top moment - one that captured not only Eva’s inner turmoil but also the conflict between Eva and Ovy.

Q: While the film avoids politics, it’s safe to say the themes have only become more relevant since Roe v. Wade was overturned here in the States. What do you hope people take away from Ovary-Acting in a world where the freedom of choice is becoming increasingly limited? 

A: We felt the story was relevant when we started developing it back in 2021, and by the time it came out, the political climate had changed a lot. Needless to say, the film has become even more relevant than when we started, and it feels very urgent and timely. The film is about the societal expectations and pressures put on women to be mothers and for motherhood to look a certain way. It is a film that was created by a team of women from different countries, walks of life, and sexualities, some of whom have kids, are thinking about kids, don’t want them, want them, or whose paths to motherhood look different. It's scary watching the rights to women's bodily autonomy so easily be taken away after years of fighting for them. I really hope the film resonates with people and sparks some very important conversations, particularly at a time when the rallying cry of “our body, our choice” has never been more relevant.

Q: What has it been like sharing the film with audiences on the festival circuit? 

A: The hope is always for people to enjoy the film, but the response has just been above and beyond anything we could ever expect. We had our World and European premieres earlier this year at Tribeca and Annecy, respectively, and since then, Ovary-Acting has been selected for over fifty festivals worldwide. We’ve also been fortunate to earn multiple accolades, most recently winning the Audience Award at the Manchester Animation Festival. I'm so happy to hear and see people enjoy the film, and to receive messages from people after seeing it or having them come talk to us, telling us how it has resonated with them. We made this film hoping to connect with the audience, and the fact that it's happening is all that I could wish for.

^{Credit: Ovary-Acting (Ida Melum)}

Q: Can we expect Ovy merchandise anytime soon? I think Ovy plushies would fly off the shelves.

A: I wish! Since we came up with these characters the team and I have spoken about merch. The possibilities are endless! Can you imagine a Testy stressball plushy? Honestly, it's the dream. Luckily, we did have a bit of budget to spend on some merch for our Tribeca and Annecy Premieres, so we had some stickers, pins, and postcards made, which were really fun to hand out. But in a perfect money-doesn’t-matter world, I would have loved to have made plushies of all the characters. Mattel, call me!

Nick Spake is the Author of Bright & Shiny: A History of Animation at Award Shows Volumes 1 and 2. Available Now!