Alma Karlin

I always wanted to forge connections between worlds, people, and places. In 2020, Mladinska knjiga published my original picture book Little Alma on a Great Journey (Mala Alma na veliki poti). As Slovenian writer Alma Karlin travelled, she interrogated ever-current questions about the positions of power, the role of traditions, and the issues of gender and social inequalities. Alma’s journey, which also led her to China, sparked a series of reflections that resonated deeply with my personal experiences. The book later fuelled the idea to upgrade the picturesque narrative of Alma’s adventure into an animated film.

Alma Karlin was a unique creator, writer, polyglot, cosmopolitan, and world traveller, whose work, way of life, and thinking deviated from the established female paths of the time. During her eight-year journey (between 1919 and 1928), she circled the world. Her works reflect again and again the current thoughts of one of the most interesting personalities of the first half of the 20th century. (Tanja Roženbergar, PhD, Director of the Slovenian Etnographic Museum)

Collaborating with director Andrej Kamnik, we transformed my art proposals, illustrations, drawings, paintings, and watercolour images into the animated film Alma, the Worldly Woman of Indomitable Spirit.