Short Film Review: Ovary-Acting – “a superb short, stop-animated film.”

Directed by Ida Melum
Starring (voices of) Snnøve Karlsen, Sofia Oxenham

The Annie award-winning (for the clever Night of the Living Dread) Norwegian director Ida Melum returns with a superb short, stop-animated film, Ovary-Acting. Eva (Snnøve Karlsen) is a thirty-something woman, feeling trapped at her sister’s baby shower, surrounded by women, mostly mothers, all cooing over babies, and all pushing her as to when she is going to become a mum, with even granny reminding her time is ticking away. Eva is less than convinced – she’s not against the idea, she’s just not sure yet if motherhood is what she wants, or at least not yet, and why is there all this pressure to not only become a mother, but do it now, now now? Is that all she has to choose from? None of the others seem to even consider other options.

Feeling stressed out, her stomach starts to heave, so she makes a run for the toilet, but while in there, her stomach suddenly inflates, making her look as if she is pregnant, and it feels like some sudden, unnatural birth is pushing out of her. And in a way it is, because when it is over she looks up to find her own reproductive system (albeit a cute, cuddly version! This isn’t Cronenberg, after all!) waving hello to her, and tell her to call her “Ovey” (Sofia Oxenham). Unsurprisingly, Ovey is rather fixated on the idea of motherhood too, so now, in addition to her family and friends, Eva finds her own body is at odds with her thoughts and wishes…

As the short film progresses, the two go from arguing to starting to talk a bit more, and while there isn’t a hundred percent agreement, they both start to see each other’s points, and realise that each person’s life choices can vary, they don’t have to conform just to one expected role, they have the right to choose what to do (in fact at one point, a now more enlightened Ovey tells granny to back off, because “our body, our decision!”).

All of this is presented in a really lovely, expressive stop-motion approach of animation, Eva and Ovey with large, almost button-like eyes, with knitted wool hair that gives everything a soft, almost huggable look to it. While it uses a lot of humour and charm (and even song!), Ovary-Acting also contains a potent social commentary on the roles women are expected to fulfil in society (even by other women), the role of motherhood and reproduction, which comes at a time when many women are grappling with those very concerns and juggling the idea of parenthood with career or other wishes and desires, to say nothing of the alarming increase on the rights of women to police their own bodies, while the idea of our own bodies not being in tune with our inner selves is one that anyone, male or female, can empathise with.

Ovary-Acting won the Best Short Animation Grand Prize at Rhode Island International Film Festival, and has been travelling the international film festival circuit, including the prestigious Annecy animation festival, and has qualified for consideration at the 2026 Academy Awards. You can follow Ida’s work on her official site here – https://www.idamelum.com/