“EVEN MICE BELONG IN HEAVEN” NOMINATED FOR EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
The feature-length animated family film "Even Mice Belong in Heaven" has a chance for the European Oscar! The film is co-produced by the Warsaw-based studio Animoon.
Even Mice Belong in Heaven, directed by Denisa Grimmová and Jan Bubeníček, is a Czech-French-Polish-Slovak co-production that combines the best traditions of Polish and Czech puppet animation. The main producer is the Czech studio Fresh Films. It's co-produced by Polish studio Animoon, French Les Films du Cygne, and Slovak CinemArt. The film was made with the financial support of the Polish Film Institute and the Łódź Film Fund together with EC1 Łódź – City of Culture and CANAL+ Polska S.A. The film's partner is Momakin, and distribution in Poland is handled by the New Horizons Association.
The film debuted in June at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and has also received awards at the festival in Shanghai (where it won the award for best film), Anifilm, Lucas Film Festival, Kids Kino, and others.
It tells the story of a little mouse – Whizzy – who wants to prove her courage and stands up to a fox – Whitebelly. Unexpectedly, they both end up in animal heaven. Only there will their real adventure begin.
Even Mice Belong in Heaven is an extremely moving story about hope, love, and courage. It's a story of friendship that seems impossible. The script was based on a novel by Czech writer Iva Procházkova.
The film uses puppet animation, and many Polish artists participated in its creation. The puppets were made by artists from Łódź – a city historically associated with puppet animation – and their work was coordinated by the company Momakin. Almost half of the puppets featured in the film were made in Łódź (including the main character – the mouse Whizzy and other rodents). Krzysztof A. Janczak composed the score while three Polish Animators – Katarzyna Okoniewska, Piotr Ficner, and Ilenia Cotardo – worked on the animation on the set in the Czech Republic.
The European Film Award is the most prestigious distinction given to European films. In 2017 another Polish co-production triumphed in the category for best feature-length animation: the film Loving Vincent. This year's winners will be announced at the gala in Berlin on 11 December.
Producer's press release