Signe Baumane’s ‘Karmic Knot’ Builds Buzz Ahead Of Busy Festival Season

European producers Fabian Driehorst and Frédéric Schuld have spent the last few years building one of animation’s most eclectic slates. Their company Fabian&Fred has backed projects that move freely between auteur cinema, documentaries, hybrids, experimental shorts, and commercially friendly family features. This spring, that momentum is converging around one title in particular, Karmic Knot, the latest feature from New York-based Latvian indie superstar Signe Baumane.

The film already carries substantial industry buzz, bolstered by a voice cast that includes Patrick Wilson, Matthew Modine, and Gracie Lawrence. Now, as Cannes and Annecy place a larger spotlight on animation financing and co-production, the filmmakers are entering what Driehorst describes as the “last steps of the financing here in Europe.”

For Driehorst, the project represents the kind of artistic collaboration that defines Fabian&Fred’s identity.

“First, I’m a fan of her work, to be honest,” he said of Baumane during a recent conversation with Cartoon Brew. “It was the same reason why I wanted to work with Isabel Herguera on Sultana’s Dream. Sometimes you see an artist, and you just feel immediately that this is a voice you want to support.”

That relationship began on the festival circuit, a resource that continues to serve as a vital part of the European animation ecosystem. Driehorst first encountered the project through producer Dominiks Jarmakovičs at Animation Dingle, before reconnecting later at Cartoon Movie.

“The festival and market scene is extremely important,” he said. “That’s where these collaborations happen. You meet people in a context where you actually talk deeply about projects.”

What drew him to Karmic Knot was not only the subject matter but the way Baumane, an accomplished filmmaker with more than 15 shorts and two features under her belt, was still evolving her artistic process. Following her previous feature, My Love Affair with Marriage, Baumane wanted Karmic Knot to incorporate multiple female artistic voices directly into the storytelling itself.

“With this new film, she wanted to go even further,” Driehorst explained. “She not only wanted to have a different style, but also a different female voice in the film, collaborating with her on specific scenes.”

Fabian&Fred eventually became involved not just financially, but creatively. Driehorst connected Baumane with Turkish-German animator Ceylan Beyoglu, whose work will contribute to the film’s visual language.

“The collaboration became much more natural bit by bit,” he said. “That’s obviously the most fun for us, when we can contribute artistically and not only take over some production work.”

Set against the collapse of the Soviet Union, Karmic Knot arrives at a moment when the political and historical themes of Eastern Europe continue to resonate internationally. Driehorst believes the timing gives the film additional relevance, especially in Germany.

“It’s talking about the collapse of the USSR from her own experience,” he said. “But in a very funny, very dark humor kind of way. Very surprising and original.”

He also points to the 2029 release window, which will coincide with a series of major historical anniversaries marking the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

“When we bring this film out, there will be one anniversary after another that we can really use,” he said. “There will be documentaries for sure and many films about that time, but this one will stand out.”

Part of that distinction comes from Baumane herself, who has built a reputation as one of animation’s most tireless advocates for independent filmmaking. Driehorst said he was struck by how personally invested she remains in every phase of the process, long after the films are completed.

“With My Love Affair with Marriage, she toured the entire world,” he said, emphasizing that, for Baumane at least, a film isn’t finished after its world premiere.

That same level of commitment appears to have helped attract the project’s cast. According to Driehorst, the actors involved were drawn less by celebrity packaging and more by Baumane’s voice as an artist.

“There are so many interesting names from U.S. television, Broadway, and cinema who came on board because they appreciate her work,” he said. “It’s not just casting names. It’s really a creative collaboration on eye level.”

The production itself continues Baumane’s longstanding collaboration with artist, production designer, and her life partner, Sturgis Warner, combining handmade sets with analog 2D animation.

“The film is hybrid,” Driehorst said. “Original sets with analog 2D animation. It’s so beautiful. Everything comes together in a way where we feel this is basically the same DNA as our studio.”

For Fabian&Fred, Karmic Knot also arrives during one of the company’s busiest periods yet. The studio heads into Cannes with Lizzy Hobbs’s Daughters of the Late Colonel premiering in competition, while Annecy will include both that film and the animated documentary Daylight, which the company is currently financing.

At the same time, Driehorst sees the broader animation landscape shifting in encouraging ways. He pointed to Cannes’ expanded Animation Day programming this year as evidence that major festivals are finally beginning to treat animation as an equal part of the global film conversation.

“I think it’s great that Cannes is putting much more focus and emphasis on animation now,” he said. “The conversations are becoming bigger, more international, and much more ambitious.”

For Karmic Knot, those conversations now carry a very practical urgency. With broadcaster support and final financing pieces in the final stages of assembly, the coming weeks between Cannes and Annecy could prove decisive. Yet Driehorst speaks of the film less as a package being sold and more as a long-term artistic partnership already taking shape.

“We had the feeling we have the same humor,” he said, recalling his first Karmic Knot meeting with Baumane. “We were laughing about the same things. And then you realize you can actually go this long path of making a feature film together.”