European Children's
Film Association
Association Européenne du Cinéma
pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse
“Baby rhinos love to take a nap”How much would you like to have a chat with a baby rhino? Very much, especially after having seen THABO AND THE RHINO CASE, in which you meet the animal in all its droll charm. Yet I’d rather talk to director Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt, who comes with stories about filming in Africa, about poachers and snakes, and… about filming a baby rhino!
“A sentence that seemed to come out of nowhere”Just as Lisa-Marie Dickreiter & Winfried Oelsner had published the third volume of their children’s book series MAX AND THE SENIOR SQUAD in 2016, film producer Martin Richter got in touch. He saw the potential for a family film that could connect generations. His son’s enthusiasm had drawn him towards the adventures of Max and his gang of senior citizens, who live in a retirement home. Ever since the film was successfully released in 2020, it has been screened constantly on German television.
“I heard a boy whispering: Kubko is coming”Slovak director Marta Prokopová does everything she can to keep the memory of her beloved dog Kubko tangible. She made a film about it, an affectionate story about a hard-working woman who barely has time for her dog. Until an unexpected catastrophe leaves them reliant on each other. The warm feelings for her now-deceased friend are palpable in everything Marta says and does.
“One day you’ll be living here”The future is full of possibilities, but the more his father presents them to him, the more the young boy feels constrained and suffocated. With simple lines in black and white, Polish director Marcin Podolec shows how a warm bond between father and son risks being suppressed by sky-high expectations.
“If Picasso would make an animated film”In CHICKEN FOR LINDA, Linda’s mum has something to make up to her daughter. So she promises to cook chicken. Not just any ordinary chicken… no, chicken with peppers, following the legendary recipe of Linda’s late daddy. But… where do you find a chicken during a general strike? How do you manage as a single mother who is still weighed down by grief over the loss of a husband? The quest for chicken gets completely out of hand in this blissful comedy.
“My films always require a bit of a mess”Preparing a wedding party at grandpa’s mansion, Jip and his family need to work together, which turns out to be trickier than expected. Moreover, Jip falls in love for the first time, but the object of his affection has her eye on someone else. And there are a few additional obstacles to face, such as: everyone desperately trying to avoid the tensions in the family, grandpa’s house is a total mess, and Jip has Down’s syndrome.
“Activities involving different sorts of vehicles”The older sister gives the younger one a hand and pulls her along, turning the house and garden into one big playroom. Until the younger sister is able to move around independently one day… With subtle colours and the sound of girls’ laughter, TO BE SISTERS shows a glimpse of what inclusion can lead to. To an ECFA Award, for instance.
“I asked her to throw a few punches”La Suprema is a distant town time forgot, it probably wasn’t even on the map of Colombia… until director Felipe Holguin has put it there. In this muddy village, teenage Laureana takes inspiration from her boxer uncle and wants to box herself. Nobody agrees with that ambition, not her overprotective grandmother, and not the former champion to whom she turns for help. Since the village lacks a TV and electricity network, she can’t even watch her uncle boxing for the title. Inspired by her persistence, the villagers get together to pick up a fight against oblivion.