9. 5. 2023

CHILDREN'S SECTION: KIND STORIES OF COURAGE, FRIENDSHIP, NATURE, MUSIC, AND DREAMS COME TRUE

This year's competition of feature films for children under 10 is extremely varied. Two films will have their world premiere, and three feature-length animated films will be represented. The carefully selected collection of films for children from around the world will offer traditional, positive stories about friendship, courage, and the desire to help others. But it will also step in new directions. You can watch the trailer here.

The poetic, visually captivating animated film Tony, Shelly, and the Magic Light (Tonda, Slávka a kouzelné světlo) by Czech director Filip Pošivac delivers a message that it is possible to deal with difference in any form and that tolerance and responsibility are cards that can always be played. It is a great pleasure for us to present this extraordinary film in its world premiere and to open the 63rd year of the festival. From Zlín, the film will then go on to compete in Annecy.

The theme of environmentalism is touched upon in the Slovak film Mimi, the Heroine’s Journey by Mira Fornay. The film won the main prize in the Generation Kplus category in Berlin and is exceptional in the context of Slovak cinema, which rarely focuses on the children's genre.

We will have the opportunity to look into the life of the original inhabitants of Canada through the film Adventures in the Land of Asha, and we will reach the North Pole by airship with Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen in the animated film Titina.

The Norwegian film Dancing Queen and the Czech film Big Dreams are both about not giving up on your dreams. Both films are linked by the theme of sport and both will delight not only children but also their parents.

An insight into the Icelandic music scene is offered by the unusual, colourful and playful film Primary School Musical, which is very popular in Iceland.

We encounter some intrepid girls in two Nordic films: the Norwegian action cartoon Just Super and the Finnish adventure detective film Dog Detective Roi.

And finally, we can look forward to the world premiere of the kind and funny German roadmovie What the Finn?! - A Summer of Surprises. Director Stefan Westerwelle's film about the search for courage and self-confidence is adapted from Martin Musser's award-winning novel of the same name.