Speaker presentation

Ola Schubert

Ola Schubert was a pioneer in Flash animation at the turn of the millennium and gave several lectures on the subject in Europe. His films such as “The Gooberstory” and “Nims Winter Tale” were groundbreaking and won various awards in the early 2000s, including the famous orange rubber arrow from the FlashForward festival in San Francisco.

He is one of the founders of the Swedish association “Swedish Animation and Visual Arts” (SAAVA).

One of the first assignments he was given as a freelancer was to illustrate and animate the Swedish phenomenon “Babblarna” which in the beginning was an educational concept aimed at children with severe speech difficulties. After several years, Babblarna became extremely popular in Sweden, which opened up for commercial exploitation. Despite the fact that a royalty agreement had been signed between the parties, the publisher chose to sue Ola in court to secure the exclusive rights to the illustrations.

The publisher used a number of loopholes in the legislation and therefore managed to win the case. The ruling has shown that the legislation is relatively weak and that creators run a great risk of losing their rights. Since the judgment created precedents, it can be used against other creators in the future. Despite the verdict, he continues the fight for justice and transparency in the Babblarna case, and to hold the publisher and the Swedish state accountable for their actions.