International Competition of Feature Films for Children

The feature debut of director Simon Rouby is set in 1914 and depicts war through the eyes of a twelve-year-old African boy. He lives a peaceful life in a remote West African village untouched by the looming war. The villagers view the outside world as a ‘land of ghosts’ that yearns for nothing more than war and violence, and they allow no one in to their sheltered community, enclosed by cliffs. But Adama’s older brother, Samba, fails his right of passage, and he up and leaves the village as a soldier, headed for the front. Adama, numb with fear for his brother, but at the same time overcome with an uncontrollable curiosity about the world beyond, sets out to find him. A woeful journey leads him all the way to Europe, right into the middle of the turmoil. This anti-war film with an intriguing story full of all kinds of twists is an acute portrayal of how the poetry of childhood can turn into a nightmarish experience in the blink of an eye. The artwork makes attractive use of the possibilities of realistic 3D animation that has undergone quite thorough stylisation, in combination with sand animation and other techniques.

Až na severní pól natočil jako svůj režijní debut francouzský animátor Rémi Chayé, který své zkušenosti získal už na známých filmech Brendan a tajemství Kellsu (The Secret of Kells, 2009) a The Painting (Le Tableau, 2011). Dobrodružný, místy mrazivý snímek se odehrává v roce 1892 v Rusku. Mladá aristokratka Saša, kterou se její rodiče snaží uvést do vyšší společnosti, se raději oddává fascinujícím objevům svého dědečka mořeplavce. Plesy Sašu nezajímají a snaha rodičů ji provdat dívku spíše děsí. Dědeček přitom před mnoha lety zmizel při expedici na Severní pól a jeho loď se nikdy nenašla. Přestože car vypsal velkou odměnu pro toho, kdo loď objeví, postupem času na dědečka všichni kromě Saši zapomněli. Dívka objeví dědečkovy plány a mapy a rozhodne se, že loď vypátrá sama. Chce tak zachránit dědečkovu reputaci. Podstoupí proto nečekaně těžkou a nebezpečnou cestu až do země ledu a mrazu, na které potká různé lidi a zažije mnoho dobrodružství na hranici života a smrti. Vizuálně poutavá výtvarná stránka přitom prohlubuje působivost příběhu.

Japanese anime, a very popular genre all over the world, is represented in our competition by the 119-minute The Boy and the Beast from experienced director Mamoru Hosoda. He is a graduate of the Kanazawa University of Arts and Crafts where he studied oil painting but soon shifted his focus to filmmaking. At first, he worked as an animator in various TV series and in the 1990’s he became a storyboard author. Since the turn of the century, Mamoru Hosoda has been directing his own films and his filmography has become quite extensive. His latest film The Boy and the Beast tells the story of a friendship between a boy and his beast friend, a fierce bear warrior. The boy, running away from his legal guardians, discovers a world parallel to the human one. This scary world is inhabited by beasts and monsters and seems terrifying. At first, the boy wants to escape immediately, but finding the way out is not at all easy. The beast warrior who brought him here is trying to tame and nurture him, and the boy’s initial resentment eventually turns into a strong friendship. The film is a magnificent example of classical Japanese animation.

Czech viewers probably know Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol in particular for their charming Academy Award-nominated feature A Cat in Paris (Une vie du chat, 2010) which was also screened at Anifilm. Now the writing-directing team is back with yet another remarkably captivating story. In this thrilling superhero film, the authors once again focus on a crime plot while remaining faithful to their very original and stylized animation. This time, the story is set in an alternate version of New York. The main hero is the 11-year-old bedridden Léo. Hospitalized Léo meets an unsuccessful police officer Alex who is confined to wheelchair after his injury at the hands of an evil mob kingpin. Léo reveals to him that his illness gave him a power to leave his body and fly around the city, passing through walls just like a phantom. And as the boy longs to be a policeman himself, they team up and decide to solve the case “remotely” with the help of Alex’s girlfriend. The story is full of suspenseful and almost horror-like scenes, but also humour and irony used to portray the unlucky policeman and the “dangerous” mobster. One of the characters is voiced by Audrey Tatou (known from Amelie from Montmartre).

The visually captivating French-Belgian-Canadian film April and the Extraordinary World is an adaptation of the graphic novel by comics artist Jacques Tardi. The filmmakers managed to successfully transfer his original style to the big screen. The story is set in Paris of the 1940’s. It seems that France, ruled by Napoleon V, is stuck in the century of steam and scientists promoting modernisation are cruelly persecuted. Following a police raid, the parents and grandfather of a young girl named Avril, who are promising chemists and inventors, disappear. As she grows up, Avril decides to find them. During her search, she meets a young man and starts discovering her own identity and unknown worlds. Particularly interesting is the genre of the story – a “retro sci-fi” with steampunk aesthetics serving as a background for a complicated and moving story of love, family bonds, friendship and the “right to science”. Christian Desmares, one of the directors, proved himself as an animation coordinator when working on Persepolis (2007) and Avril is dubbed by the Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard.