Maria-May Backhaus Brown

Maria-May Backhaus Brown began her creative journey at Holbæk Kunsthøjskole in the spring of 2022. She has been drawing and painting since she was very young. At the art school, she studied animation for four weeks under the guidance of Sara Koppel. It was during this time that her creativity flourished, leading to the creation of 'Else & Birthe' (2022), a hand-drawn 2D animation on paper, which she made together with Mads Theodor Bonde. Driven by their shared passion for traditional animation, they carried this approach into their next project and created their debut film 'Vandpyt' (2024).

'Vandpyt' premiered at the Odense Film Festival this year, where it won the award for Best Danish Animated Film, and at Viborg Animation Festival, the film also received the Open Workshop Danish Talent Award.