“Fish River Anthology”, Interview with Director Veera Lamminpää

At the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Finnish filmmaker Veera Lamminpää presents her poetic stop-motion short “Fish River Anthology” as part of the Future Frames: Generation NEXT of European Cinema program. This lyrical and surreal animated musical follows a group of dead fish in a supermarket as they reflect on life, death, and their own value.

A Musical Lament in the Supermarket Aisle

In “Fish River Anthology”  Veera Lamminpää turns a mundane grocery store into a stage for existential musings and absurd elegance. Set in the cold, fluorescent-lit fish counter of a supermarket, her characters are fish — freshly caught, already dead, yet bursting with thoughts and songs.

“It’s a stop-motion animation musical that’s set in a supermarket,” Lamminpää says. “People are lining up to get their fish, and the fish are waiting to get picked up.”

The idea, she explains, came from a surreal moment of reflection in the grocery store. “They are clearly dead, but they’re very fresh. So they must have been swimming just a few moments ago… Then you go down the rabbit hole of existential thinking — or at least I do.”

Humor Meets Melancholy in the Cold Counter

Balancing the absurd and the profound, “Fish River Anthology” invites audiences to laugh, wonder, and reflect. Lamminpää believes humor is essential to navigating even the darkest thoughts.

“I think there is no situation in life where there is no humor, no matter how sad or profound it is,” she says. “You can find beauty in negative emotions, even if they’re not something you wish to feel.”

Through song and stylized movement, her film becomes a melancholic elegy and a comedy of the absurd — a reminder that even the forgotten have something to say.

Why Stop Motion? A Medium of Freedom

Lamminpää embraced stop motion for this project, both for its expressive potential and its practicality.

“I thought it would be very different from live action, but it wasn’t. It was the same, just frame by frame,” she notes. “You’re not limited by reality — you can do whatever you want.”

Working with recycled materials and a small team of student collaborators, she created a richly textured world on a minimal budget: “It was a very budget-friendly option. We could do more with less.”

Songs of the Sea: Music as Emotional Core

The musical dimension of”Fish River Anthology” came to life through a close collaboration with Finnish composer  Iiti Yli-Harja, known for her love of the ocean and its creatures.

“I wrote the lyrics, and we talked about references,” Lamminpää recalls. “Then I got this beautiful demo in my email… I just started crying because I thought it was perfect.”

The film’s soundtrack serves not only as narrative but as emotional anchor, turning the inner lives of fish into hauntingly beautiful songs.

More Than Just Fish

Lamminpää hopes that audiences walk away with a deeper sense of connection, not only to the food we eat, but also to one another.

“Everyone and everything that has been alive at some point has a story, memories, and a purpose in life,” she says. “That relates to the strangers we meet, but also the food we consume — not just animals, but also plants and everything.”

This awareness permeates the film, giving voice to the voiceless and prompting viewers to reflect on the value we assign to life.

Future Frames: A Platform for New Voices

Being selected for Future Frames is a meaningful milestone for Lamminpää, as she transitions from student to professional filmmaker.

“It means a lot. The film industry needs new voices. But it’s not easy for young filmmakers to make themselves known,” she says. “Future Frames and Karlovy Vary are doing a great job of keeping the industry alive and refreshing it with new talent.”

What’s Next for Veera Lamminpää?

Lamminpää is currently working on multiple new projects, including a sci-fi satire and a hybrid stop-motion/live-action film. “I wanted to combine puppetry and stop motion with live action. I think it’s going to be something very interesting.”

She’s also developing a new short film, supported by a screenwriting grant from the Finnish Film Foundation, which is expected to enter production by the end of the year.

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