Swiss filmmaker Antonin Niklas brings imagination to life with his stop-motion short “Into the Forest,” which won the Young Audience Award at the Annecy Animation Festival on Friday.
Produced by Milos-Films and filmed at Hélium Films’ studios in Lausanne, Switzerland, the short follows three homemade monkeys whose creativity, collaboration, and resourcefulness transform a cold animation studio into a vibrant jungle.
In collaboration with Nadadi Film, this production also features a doll of Oshi, the baby orangutan from Claude Barras’s Savages (2024).
A graduate of Britain’s National Film and Television School, Nicklaus has become a household name in Annecy, having previously been selected for Don’t Feed the Pigeons (2021) and Coup de Théâtre (2022).
With Into the Forest, he creates a multi-layered work that celebrates the artistry of stop-motion animation itself, with an eye toward a younger audience. Combining meticulously hand-crafted animation, expressive sound design, and an evolving electronic score, the film explores themes of belonging, creativity, and the power of collaboration.
Variety interviewed Nicklaus ahead of the film’s premiere and awards at Annecy.
“Into the Forest” begins with the subject being released from the animation apparatus. Can you talk about your work on that sequence?
The original goal was to introduce children to the concept of stop motion animation. Our monkey is brought back to life by human hands, but then has to be freed from its chains and find its own way. This is the moment when the doll ceases to be an object and becomes a character. In a sense, as filmmakers, we lose control of the characters we portray. It becomes an autonomous entity in people’s hearts. Symbolically, this immediately sets the theme. Creation is an act of liberation.
On a technical level, it was a lot of fun for animator Timothy Crabbe to shape the movement and figure out how to combine live-action hands with stop-motion orangutans. This is one of those rare films where the rig isn’t erased in post-production.
Music plays an important role in bringing the monkey world to life. How did you approach the musical identity for this film?
Music is an important part of the journey, as there is no dialogue in the film and the story only moves through the sounds of the monkeys. Together with sound designer Loïc Kleiden and composer Fabio Amurri, we created a score that begins with more mechanical, industrial rhythms that reflect a cold studio, and evolves into more melodic patterns and natural ambient sounds.
I wanted something playful that would build up as the film progressed and then reach its full potential when the epic handcrafted jungle was revealed. We tried many approaches with Fabio, but initially we were aiming for a more traditional jungle-focused adventure style with percussion. However, we realized that the story is not set in Borneo, but in a stop-motion studio in Lausanne. Therefore, we chose a fairly electronic approach using synthesizers to follow the emotional journeys and discoveries of the little monkeys.
What message do you want viewers to take away from watching the journey of the protagonists in this film?
We hope young viewers enjoy discovering this little monkey trying to make a home. We didn’t just want to create a behind-the-scenes look for an animated film. Rather, we aimed to anchor the educational aspects of the film within an engaging story. The characters find salvation through imagination and artistic creation as they build their own forest.
Beyond the technical aspects of filmmaking, the core message is one of wit. Trapped in a cold studio, these monkeys use their imaginations and everything at hand to create their own jungle. It’s rough and makeshift, but it’s theirs. I also hope that the audience can experience the joy of collaborative production and teamwork. Three monkeys work together and combine their skills to achieve a common goal. And this benefits others too.
What does it mean to you that Into the Forest will premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival?
Living in Switzerland, very close to Annecy (my grandmother was born just 30 minutes from here), it took me a surprisingly long time to understand the true scale of this festival. That realization really grew when I went back to NFTS, the British film school. It felt like coming home, but seen through completely new eyes.
Since then, my journey here has continued, from my graduation project “Don’t Feed the Pigeons” to my commissioned project “Couple de Théâtre” the following year.
Making a film for a young audience was an unexpected challenge for me and a very exciting one. It is a great honor to be selected for the competition. It feels incredibly special to be able to share this work with a global audience, talented peers, and children virtually from my backyard.
