The Boy and the Heron

Pre-film of the International Festival of Children's and Youth Film Enimation:
Funny Songs / Slovenia, 202x, x min
Written by Alenka Bervar / Narrated by Žan Kotolenko / Music by Jernej Bervar / Animation by the Students of class 2.b, Bratje Polančič Elementary School Maribor / Mentors Hana Repše, Polona Legvart, Polona Paulič Podstenšek / Production by Enimation school - Zavod MARS Maribor and Društvo za razvoj filmske kulture, Bratje Polančič Elementary School / Financial support from the Municipality of Maribor - for the project Film and Youth.

The short animated film Funny Songs is based on the book of the same name by Alenka Bervar. It features 12 humorous animal stories brought to life by the students of class 2.b, Bratje Polančič Elementary School Maribor, guaranteed to make us laugh.

The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa do ikiru ka)

Hayao Miyazaki / Japan, 2023, 124 min /in Japanese with Slovenian subtitles

Master of Anime, Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Porco Rosso, My Neighbor Totoro, etc.), has returned with the legendary Studio Ghibli after his announced retirement in his best form yet. In an intimate, autobiographical narrative, we are taken through the eyes of 11-year-old Mahito, who must leave war-torn Tokyo and move to the countryside after the loss of his mother. This magical world intertwines life, death, sorrow, and joy. In the village where his mother grew up, he moves into an old mansion on a vast estate where he encounters a mysterious grey heron. Among other accolades, the film received a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, although Miyazaki did not attend the ceremony.

Hayao Miyazaki, as a master painter, layers meanings into the narrative. On a fundamental level, the work can be seen primarily as an allegorical depiction of a boy's coming of age, resolving inner conflicts through a relationship with nature and confronting human weaknesses. It is also a film about the flow of time, which is not necessarily linear. The Boy and the Heron is a timeless poem about searching, acceptance, farewells, and new beginnings.

Distributer za Slovenijo: Cinemania Group