The animated feature film "Tales from the Magic Garden" will have its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival 2025 in the Generation Kplus competition. The stop-motion film, inspired by the children’s fairytale book "Of Unwanted Things and People" by Czech author Arnošt Goldflam, celebrates the art of storytelling.
The film tells the story of three children who spend the night at their grandfather’s house for the first time since the passing of their grandmother, a master storyteller. Unable to fall asleep without a bedtime story, the children decide to make up their own stories and embark on a journey that shows them that storytelling can help them cope with life’s challenges and offer solace through imagination.
"Tales from the Magic Garden" is a co-production with an equal creative contribution from four countries, represented by the production companies Maurfilm (Czech Republic), Artichoke (Slovakia), ZVVIKS (Slovenia), and VivementLundi ! (France), led by an experienced team of animation producers Martin Vandas, Alena Vandasová, Juraj Krasnohorsky, Henrieta Cvangová, Kolja Saksida, Jean-François Le Corre and Mathieu Courtois. The CEE Animation network played a key role in the meeting and long-term relationship between the producers, whose collaboration now extends to numerous films and future projects.
Alena Vandasová, producer at Maurfilm, shared: “It has been a fantastic, friendly collaboration that lasted an incredible ten years, requiring patience from all the collaborators, funding bodies, and numerous other partners. The world premiere at Berlinale is a great reward and satisfaction for all of us.”
Kolja Saksida, producer at ZVVIKS, highlighted the significance of this project: “I am truly honored to share that after years of collaboration with our wonderful partners, this film marks a groundbreaking achievement. It is the first feature-length animated film for children with a Slovenian producer and director, where all production partners share equal involvement - an approach that is rare in the industry.”
The four creative teams worked together under the direction of the four directors David Súkup (Czech Republic), Patrik Pašš (Slovakia), Leon Vidmar (Slovenia) and Jean-Claude Rozec (France). The screenplay was written by Jerneja Kaja Balogand Maja Križnik, Blandine Jet, Patrik Pašš, Marek Král and Petr Krajíček. The artistic design of the stop-motion film was created by Patricia Ortiz Martínez and Jean-Claude Rozec.
“Children's programming often avoid the topic of death for fear of evoking negative emotions, leaving children who experience a loss feeling isolated, as if no one acknowledges what has happened,” explains director Jean-Claude Rozec and continues: “Despite the creative and financial risks, the producers decided to approach this sensitive topic in a careful and thoughtful way, and that's why this film is so important to me.”
Slovenian director Leon Vidmar adds: “Film is always a collaborative art form based on the collective vision and effort of many. But this project was a true team effort where each individual gave their best, and I believe together we created something greater than the sum of its parts.”
Lucia Chuťková, the film music composer from Slovakia, comments on the challenges of this unique collaboration: “I tried to create a unified, harmonious universe that connects four stories with their own characters and the vision of four directors who have their own aesthetic perception. This was challenging for me on the one hand, but also very inspiring, and musically, it brought a rich instrumental diversity that fuses the film into a seamless narrative.”
Following its world premiere at Berlinale on February 16th, "Tales from the Magic Garden" will be presented in a sneak preview at Cartoon Movie in March 2025, further solidifying its status as one of the year’s most anticipated animated stop-motion features.
