The animated short Fachuk directed and written by Maida Srabović (Tetrabot), which she also produced together with Viva Videnović (URGH!) from Slovenia, will compete in the Perspectives programme. The author’s directorial debut was created by restoring and digitizing the paintings of acclaimed naïve art painter Mijo Kovačić. Fachuk (a dialectal term for an illegitimate child) follows a young pregnant woman trying to escape the harsh fate assigned to her by the narrow-minded townsfolk.

Also to compete in the Perspectives category will be Psychonauts by Niko Radas, produced by Filip Gašparović Melis from the Croatian Association of Digital Artists. The film was created as part of art therapy at the Vrapče Clinical Hospital, while the creation process involved the patients of the Clinical Hospital, who came up with the concept, created the scenery, and lent voices to the characters. The film visualises the experience of mental illness, portraying them as characters leaving the human body and mind.

The Magician is the first animated feature by award-winning Romanian director Bogdan Muresanu, created as a Croatian-French-Romanian co-production. On the Croatian side, the co-producer is Miljana Dragičević for Minya Film and Animation. The film will compete in the main competition programme, and, set in the year 1910, follows a magician facing the changes brought about by the advent of the first electric power plant in the Romanian city of Sulina.

This year’s edition of this prestigious festival, one of the largest animated film festivals in the world, will be held from 8 to 14 June in the French city of Annecy. The complete festival programme will be announced in May, while all details may be found on the official website.