The screening in Kinodvor is accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing, and the blind and partially-sighted. In collaboration with House of Culture Cerknica as part of the project ‘Cinema without Barriers’.

Slovenia, Slovakia, France, Czechia, 2025, 71’
Dubbed in Slovenian, with English subtitles

Directed by: Leon Vidmar, David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Jean-Claude Rozec
Based on the book by: Arnošt Goldflam
Written by: Jerneja Kaja Balog, Maja Križnik, Marek Král, Petr Krajíček, Patrik Pašš, Blandine Jet
Graphic Design: Patricia Ortiz Martínez, Jean-Claude Rozec
Cinematographers: Miloš Srdić, Radka Šplíchalová, Václav Fronk, Alan Soural, Simona Weisslechner, Mathilde Gaillard
Editing: Adéla Špaljová
Music Composer: Lucia Chuťková
Sound Design: Miroslav Červená Chaloupka
Colourist: Teo Rižnar
Voices: Janez Hočevar, Jadranka Tomažič, Khaleesi Luna Meglič, Tosja Tomšič Belle, Tibor Bezlaj Milčinski, Jana Zupančič, Matej Puc, Maša Derganc Veselko, Sofia Bagola
Producers: Martin Vandas, Alena Vandasová, Juraj Krasnohorský, Kolja Saksida, Jean-François Le Corre, Mathieu Courtois
Production: ZVVIKS, Maurfilm, Artichoke, Vivement Lundi !
Distribution in Slovenia: Animateka

When Tom (4), Susan (8), and Derek (10) visit their grandfather for the first time since losing their beloved grandmother, they find the house quiet and their grandfather distant. Taking inspiration from her grandmother, Susan steps into the role of storyteller, using the power of her imagination and creating enchanting tales to bring warmth back into grandfather’s home and into their relationships. We delve into the world of a helpful mysterious cat, a not-so-scary monster, and a daring flying man. While being mysterious, dramatic, poignant, and funny, the stories also help the family find light in one of life’s darkest moment.

Directors’ Statements

At first, I made a short film and then this whole project expanded. It’s a feature film now! I would say my story is not a typical story for children. It’s a bit darker. The biggest issue was that I shot my film 8 years ago, so it took a while for others to join me.

– David Súkup

When I was invited to join the project, I could pick the story I liked the most. We were given the synopses, as they weren’t translated into English. It was interesting because you are basically asked to make your own short film, but you still think about what came before and what comes after. It’s my film, but it’s also our film. It was a crazy rollercoaster.

– Leon Vidmar

We tried to communicate the fear of our main protagonist and his loneliness. It was very much on our minds: How do we combine these things, making sure all these themes are not too drastic, especially for the young audience? You don’t see it that often in films directed at younger children, from 6-10 years old. But we never wanted to alienate potential viewers either.

– Patrik Pašš

There’s a kind of magic that comes with stop-motion. It’s such a strange feeling when you are on set with these puppets, painting the sky or sculpting the bushes. Really creating things, instead of just fixing everything digitally. You have this tiny little thing in front of you and you try to move it, frame by frame, until it becomes alive. It’s a whole different reality and a great way to tell stories, because there’s already this connection between you and the puppets. Same goes for the audience – they project so many emotions onto them.

– Jean-Claude Rozec

Awards and festivals (selection):

– Vesna Awards for Best Animated Film and Best Script, FSF 2025
– Contrechamp Award Nominee, Annecy IAFF 2025
– European Children’s Film Association Award, Giffoni FF 2025
– Audience Award for Best Non-Arabic Film, Amman IFF 2025
– official selection, Berlinale 2025
– official selection, Ottawa IAFF 2025
– official selection, Karlovy Vary 2025
– official selection, Zlin FF 2025