Sara Koppel is a Copenhagen based animation artist whose work is inseparable from her life choices. She entered animation almost by chance as a young punk, after being turned away from a school internship and finding her way instead into a working animation studio. From early work on Valhalla and Strit og Stumme to years with Jannik Hastrup and later A. Film, Koppel built her craft from practice, mentorship and deep curiosity rather than formal education.

In this interview, Koppel speaks about choosing art over financial security, and about animation as a form of political and poetic resistance. Her films are made for adult audiences and often confront subjects surrounded by taboo, including sexuality, eroticism, ageing, bodily awareness and climate catastrophe. For her, hand drawn animation can move into places live action cannot, creating a space where sensuality and vulnerability can be met with poetry rather than fear.

Still working with pencil and paper, Koppel describes a deeply physical process rooted in independence, DIY ethics and punk spirit. Her advice to younger artists is simple: do it yourself, look honestly at the life you want to live, and remember that while art may not make you rich, it can give you a rich life.