_{Sprite Fright by Matthew Luhn and Hjalti Hjalmarsson}

In Sprite Fright, an eco horror-comedy inspired by 80’s classics such as Gremlins and more recently Shaun of the Dead, a group of rowdy teenagers trek into an isolated forest only to stumble across a tribe of peaceful and very talkative mushroom creatures. Except these creatures may be less innocent than they seem, especially when their habitat is under threat.

“This is the first time a Blender Studio film is selected for the Annecy festival, we are very happy,” comments producer Francesco Siddi.

Blender Studio is the creative arm of the Blender HQ, and comprises a dedicated team of artists and developers who “challenge themselves with creative/technical targets to benefit Blender users and to drive Blender development forward,” the company says. This is effected within an open source production environment and by sharing everything they produce using a free license, hence the easy access to Blender content on outlets such as YouTube. “It is part of Blender’s mission to share content, assets and 3D production knowledge with the community. This means we try to make all of our work (including the production files) available for download,” underlines Siddi.

The 10-minute Sprite Fright is hilarious and challenging in equal measure. What is more it is both vicious and unrelenting in its depiction of nature’s revenge on the group of crass teenagers who, with the exception of team leader Ellie, are determined to exploit the talking mushrooms.

“We were looking for an entertaining story, something that director Matthew Luhn has plenty of experience creating,” comments Siddi. “One of the best ways to make sure that the story works is to give the director the freedom to tell a story they care about. 80’s-themed horror comedy is something Matthew is definitely passionate about.” One should maybe add his desire to deliver an environmental lesson on how to respect and understand nature. To do otherwise is at your peril!

Luhn is a story expert with almost thirty years of experience in Hollywood. Starting as the youngest animator on The Simpsons, he has since dedicated his career “to a vision of story as a vehicle for evoking emotion.” Luhn’s subsequent filmography includes such classics as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille and Up and others.

Sprite Fright is co-directed by Blender Studio’s Hjalti Hjalmarsson, director of Agent 327*. Other talents on the production include veteran Ricky Nierva who was production designer for Monsters University and Up and an artist on numerous other prestigious titles including Inside Out and Finding Nemo; and story artist Dirk van Dulmen, whose credits include Shaun the Sheep and UglyDolls.

“Currently Blender Studio can afford to produce independent short films thanks to the support of thousands of people who are subscribed to the studio.blender.org platform. As the community of supporters grows, we plan to look into parallel productions, series or even features,” concludes producer Siddi.

Click here for the full screening schedule of all Dutch animations at Annecy 2022.
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*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund