> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.weanimate.dk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The National Film School of Denmark Animation Graduates: Emma Bruun Ruus and Glæden ved at være - URL: https://www.weanimate.dk/nfs26-emma-bruun-ruus/ - Published: 2026-04-15T08:08:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-31T19:31:25.000Z - Description: Flickering blue lines and a camera that jumps around in a strange way. Slowly you realize that we are seeing the world through the eyes of a small child. And the film then becomes this life-affirming experience of diving into the child's ways of seeing. - Author: WeAnimate - Tags: Profiles, Short Films, Education, National Film School of Denmark, Film School Graduates This article is part of a series of 6 focusing on the recent graduates from the National Film School of Denmark's animation program. See the other articles in the series [here](https://www.weanimate.dk/tag/film-school-graduates/). > Flickering blue lines and a camera that jumps around in a strange way. Slowly you realizethat we are seeing the world through the eyes of a small child. And the film then becomesthis life-affirming experience of diving into the child's ways of seeing. > > \- Gunnar Wille ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/glaedenvedatvaere_A1_3mmbleed_UK.jpg) "Glæden ved at være" is a peek at life from the perspective of a child. Using natural audio and the curious, restless motions of a toddler, this film combines rotoscoped animation with stylized art direction that reflects and exaggerates the shifting attention and focus of the tiny cinematographer. A stripped-back color palette and minimalist framing lead the eye through the film, with careful pacing that allows us to inhabit each moment. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/IMG_3958-1.jpg) Directed by Emma Bruun Ruus and produced by Emma Lind, "Glæden ved at være"/"The Joy of Being" is a poetic exploration of everyday moments, seen through the curious, carefree, and magical eyes of a child. Emma Bruun Ruus says: For the past four years, I've been deeply interested in the intersection of animation and documentary. My ambition and dream is to keep exploring how traditions from the both can be combined to create new ways of portraying reality. In "The Joy of Being", we follow Balder and his first encounter with the world. Balder has just taken his first steps, and suddenly the world has opened up to him. He has discovered that you can eat raspberries off your fingertips. He has just learned to clap along to music. He has found out that smiles are infectious and that draping a blanket over your head can make you invisible. Through Balder's curious eyes, everyday life transforms into a poetic journey of discovery, where every sound, shadow, and touch is met with wonder. A sensory and abstract drama that invites the audience to sense, feel, and rediscover the world as if for the first time. The film stems from a desire to find meaning in my own motherhood, in a world that feels vast and uncertain. The film is a search for peace, for hope, and for a gaze not yet shaped by fear and expectations. A gaze that sees everything for the very first time, and perhaps, for that very reason, sees more clearly. It's a poetic exploration of what it feels like to be, before we become and I hope the film can inspire others to meet the world with the same awe and curiosity as a child. > The film stems from a desire to find meaning in my own motherhood, in a world that feels vast and uncertain. "Glæden ved at være" was nominated for Best Animation at the 2025 Ekko Shortlist Awards, won the Danish Animation Talent Award at OFF 2026, and was nominated for the best short at Robert 2026. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/2125-A-7-2_GladenVedAtVaere--1-00-57-06-.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/2125-A-7-2_GladenVedAtVaere--1-01-26-05-.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/2125-A-7-2_GladenVedAtVaere--1-01-40-13-.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/2125-A-7-2_GladenVedAtVaere--1-02-33-21-.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/2125-A-7-2_GladenVedAtVaere--1-03-30-00-.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/41/6d/416d3aee-e3c1-4f85-8e93-3926e97cd887/content/images/2026/08/2125-A-7-2_GladenVedAtVaere--1-04-26-23-.png) Stills from the film ****Glæden ved at være** ****Logline:** “The Joy of Being” is a poetic exploration of everyday moments, seen through the curious, carefree, and magical eyes of a child. ****Pitch:** **In "The Joy of Being" we follow one-year-old Balder and his first encounter with the world. With his curious, carefree gaze, everyday moments become a poetic journey of discovery, where each sound, shadow and touch is filled with wonder. But behind the curiosity lie moments when the world becomes too big, too close, and too overwhelming all at once. "The Joy of Being" is a sensorial and life-affirming drama about the beauty in the imperfect and a quiet tribute to the present, to life, and to the world.* wam#172