The story centers on a Holocaust-surviving Jewish girl whose father throws her from a moving train heading to Auschwitz. Ultimately, she’s found by a woodcutter and his family…

Production: France/Belgium

First animated feature in Cannes Main Competition since 2008.
Opening film of Annecy 2024. NZ Theatrical Premiere.

Michel Hazanavicius (born March 29, 1967) is an acclaimed French director, screenwriter, and producer renowned for his homage-style filmmaking, most notably the 2011 silent film The Artist, which won five Academy Awards, including Best Director. Born in Paris to a Jewish Lithuanian family, he began his career in television and commercials before directing parodies like OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. 

• Major Achievement: Won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Artist (2011), becoming the first French director to win in that category.
• Style: Known for pastiche and genre-parody, often collaborating with actor Jean Dujardin and wife/actress Bérénice Bejo.
• Background: Started in the late 1980s writing for the Canal+ channel and directing commercials.
• Notable Films: OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006), OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009), The Artist (2011), The Search (2014), Godard Mon Amour (2017), and The Most Precious of Cargoes (2024).
• Other Roles: In 2017, he established his own production company, Les Compagnons du Cinéma, and has served as chair of the governing council of the French national film school, La Fémis.