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In his presentation, director and producer Petr Oukropec will focus on using various kinds of animation and special effects and their incorporation in live-action scenes in films for children. Why are his films for young audiences (Blue Tiger, Martin and the Magical Forest) perceived abroad as a continuation of the traditional and specific Czech approach to special effects? And is there even such an approach? As the producer of My Sunny Maad by Michaela Pavlátová, Oukropec will screen several previews from this long-anticipated film due to be premiered later this year.

Organised in cooperation with Creative Europe Desk CZ – MEDIA and CEE Animation.

This charmingly poetic family film is an adaptation of a book of the same name by Tereza Horváthová and its playful artistic style is based on original illustrations by Juraj Horváth. It is also the feature debut of director Petr Oukropec.

The story revolves around a somewhat forgotten but still magical botanical garden hidden in a buzzing city. Together with their quirky parents and a talking parrot, two friends named Johanka and Matyáš lead a carefree life among the plants. But when the city’s ambitious mayor decides to demolish the garden and build a brand new district in its stead, a mysterious blue tiger appears directly on a crossroads. With the help of the tiger, the children try to save their unique world. In their film, the authors have organically combined live-action and animation and used several animation techniques – traditional animation, cut-out animation and CGI.

The film’s strong points lie in its nostalgic atmosphere, an impossible-to-capture magic of a forgotten world where time stands still, supported by interestingly selected and shot real locations. The performances of the child actors are also praiseworthy. The environmental message of Blue Tiger also resonates with the theme of the festival’s accompanying programme, Planet A.

The recently completed film Martin and the Magical Forest takes the viewers into a magical world of forest creatures. It takes place at a summer camp and reveals the true secrets of the forests. Because when we’re not looking, the forests swarm with creatures of various shapes and forms. ‘The forests are more alive than we think. If you stumble over a stump or when a cone falls on your head, it’s not an accident or a playful squirrel. It’s them showing us that we’ve entered their home,’ says director Petr Oukropec.

The human hero of the film is a city boy named Martin nicknamed Mazel. He’s not that much into nature, he prefers his phone and to spend his nights in a tent at a summer camp wasn’t his idea. But it’s Martin who discovers the mysterious forest creatures and makes a pact with them. At first, they help him win a camp game, but eventually they have a much more important and challenging task to take upon themselves. The live-action film written by Kateřina Kačerovská includes extensive SFX scenes starring grass gnomes, a flying salmonberry witch, various flowers, families of assault cones, several original branchers and mossies and – inspired by the legendary Ents – also living trees. Some of them are merry while others may be dangerous. When designing these creatures, their authors combined modern CGI and animation with partial puppets made with natural materials.