Indie European co-pro Tales from the Magic Garden, a new stop-motion animated feature based on the children’s fairytale book Of Unwanted Things and People by Czech author Arnošt Goldflam, has been announced as a World Premiere at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. Screening in the young audiences Generation Kplus competition, the film combines elements of fantasy, humor and the connective power of imagination.
Tales from the Magic Garden 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.
The film 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 Vivement Lundi ! (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 bringing together these producers, whose collaboration now extends to numerous films and future projects.
“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,” said Vandasová of Maurfilm. “The world premiere at Berlinale is a great reward and satisfaction for all of us.”
Saksida, producer at ZVVIKS, shared, “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 Balog and Maja Križnik, Blandine Jet, Patrik Pašš, Marek Král and Petr Krajíček. The film’s art direction and design was handled by Patricia Ortiz Martínez and Jean-Claude Rozec. Slovakian composer Lucia Chuťková created the music.
“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,” said Roze. “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.”
Vidmar added, “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.”
Following its world premiere at Berlinale on February 16, Tales from the Magic Garden will be presented in a sneak preview at Cartoon Movie in March 2025.
The film was co-produced by Czech Television, Slovak Television and Radio – STVR, RTV Slovenija, Pictanovo with the support of Région Hauts-de-France, studio Personne n’est parfait ! and financially supported by Eurimages, Creative Europe – MEDIA, Czech Film Fund, Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Slovenian Film Centre, Film studio Viba film Ljubljana, Région Bretagne / Bretagne Cinéma, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, TVR Tempo – Rennes Métropole, Gebeka Films, Tébéo, TébéSud, France Télévisions – France 3 Bretagne and NuFrame.
