France / 2024 / 81 min / English / Animated Tale of WWII
Once upon a time, a poor woodcutter and his wife lived in a great forest. Cold, hunger, poverty and a war raging all around them meant their lives were very hard. One day, the woodcutter’s wife rescues an orphaned baby. This baby, this “most precious of cargoes”, will transform the lives of the poor woodcutter’s wife and her husband, as well as those whose paths the child will cross – including the man gave her up. And some will try to protect her, whatever the cost. Their story will reveal the worst and the best in the hearts of men.
DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius is a French film director, screenwriter, editor, and producer. He is best known for his 2011 film, The Artist, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture at the 84th Academy Awards. It also won him the Academy Award for Best Director.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT: It all started five years and a half ago, with Jean-Claude Grumberg’s eponymous book…although you could almost say it started when I was born, as Jean-Claude was my parents’ best friend since they were 16. In any case, even before the book was published, Robert Guédiguian gave it to [producer] Patrick Sobelman. The latter and Studiocanal then approached me to see if I’d be interested in making it into an animation movie. I hesitated a bit for that very reason, because it’s animation, and also because of it’s a story related to the Holocaust, which seemed so daunting to me. But ultimately the story is immensely beautiful, and after speaking to Jean-Claude, I knew I had to come on board.
Contact: The Festival Agency
