European Children's
Film Association
Association Européenne du Cinéma
pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse
“Fun with a frog”After a sudden accident, the short-tempered young mouse Wizzy and the shy fox Whitebelly end up together in animal heaven. As naturally mortal enemies, they have to gain control over their instincts and work together to meet the challenges of this new environment. There’s plenty of magic to this story, but there’s even more magic in the way it is made: In top-notch stop-motion with handmade puppets, delicate textures and a warm lighting design.
“The film continues after the credits”After 20 years of silence, the filmmaker travels back to the house of her great-grandparents, where she passed through harmful events that left a deep imprint on her memory forever. The long-awaited family gathering runs counter to her attempts to overcome the past. MY UNCLE TUDOR is a personal story that highlights all those personal stories that were never resolved.
“Why should this movie be made in animation?”The Czech production company Maur Film has more than one trump card to play. With versatility as a keyword, they combine multiple assets, such as a permanent production of mainly short films, a diversity of animation styles, a strong reputation as co-production partner… And two inspiring people at the wheel: Martin Vandas and his partner in work and life Alena Vandasova. Together with her, we go over the recent production of Maur Film in their offices in a Prague suburb.
“It was pure brain jogging”Joya Thome, who scored a festival hit in 2017 with the award-winning QUEEN OF NIENDORF has been entrusted the remake of Klaus Baumgart’s classic children’s book LAURA’S STAR. Translating the animation by Maya Gräfin Rothkirch & Thilo Graf Rothkirch (2005) into a live-action film was not only quite a contrast with her feature debut, but also a challenge that the young filmmaker mastered surprisingly well.
“Our fights are based upon 30 years of training”Suffering from ghosts, poltergeists or paranormal plague? The Ghastly Brothers will help you out. Where monsters lurk – in the closet, basement or under the bed – these professional ghost hunters will catch them and lock them up for good. But when Lilith and her friends in boarding school track down a supernatural phenomenon, the Ghastly Brothers take on the most dangerous task of their career; catching the monster hiding inside all of us.
“Film history presents cinema as an all-male industry”“Who decides what is worth remembering?” Although women have been shaping cinema since its very beginning, they’re often completely overlooked in official film historiography. In her documentary essay DANS LA SILENCE D’UNE MER ABYSALLE Juliette Klinke compiles film clips that were made by women between 1896 and 1940 and brings back a buried legacy to the present cultural memory.
“The almost existential state of waiting”Together with his group of young Afghan friends, Peyman finds himself stuck in Athens. Their hope is to reach mainland Europe and reunite with their loved ones, but that could take years; and it might never happen. Living in limbo, but armed with a new-found freedom, they kill time by aimlessly strolling around the city, sharing jokes, rap battles, stories from the past and dreams for the future.
“I felt like walking into an NBA game”If controversy is the mother of a good documentary, RAISE THE BAR is of good breeding, burdening you with sky high dilemmas. Whichever side you choose, you never know whether you have chosen well. RAISE THE BAR may disguise itself as a sports movie, but constantly tests your guilty conscience as we follow the development of an Icelandic girls’ basketball team. Their training programme is intense, and they are led by an overqualified coach who constantly raises the bar. This team is ready to change the world, but is the world ready for them?