Stina and the Wolf isn’t your average animated film. First off, the trailer for the film depicts a world that is positively stunning. The photorealistic animation style is enchanting rather than distracting, and the two minutes of footage in the trailer shows an interesting use of light. Something other than sheer beauty sets it apart though: It’s being made my students at the University of Portsmouth. Watch the teaser:

Stina & the Wolf – Student Film Project from Stina and the Wolf on Vimeo.

Paul Charisse (animator on Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) is writing and directing the adventurous film. It focuses on a young girl named Stina who “tries to deal with the reality of a living in superstitious and oppressive army town.” Her world is a magical place that makes it ideal for use as a proving ground. Charisse is teaching animation techniques at the University of Portsmouth and using Stina and the Wolf to teach students real world, practical feature film skills. The project has been in the works for a couple of years, and Charisse has turned to Kickstarter to raise money to allow them to complete previsualization (previz) art on Stina and the Wolf’s 48 scenes. They’ll be able to switch from working on the film in their free time to developing it full-time. They’re asking for £50,000.

The ins and outs of the where the money will go is laid out on Kickstarter and so is the history of the film. Stina and the Wolf has gone on quite the journey to get to the level seen in the teaser trailer. You have 19 more days to lend your support to the project. Reward levels begin at £2 and go up to £5,000. They include everything from personalized thank yous, an invitation to an exclusive backer screening in Portsmouth, a specially bound book of concept art, and more. Pardon me while I drool over the idea of seeing concept art for this project.

Will you be backing Stina and the Wolf? Let us know your thoughts about the project in the comments.