The Berlinale, whose 2022 edition will take place 10-16 February, has announced its selection. The short film Luce and the Rock, directed by Britt Raes, is selected in the Generation KPlus section of the festival. This competition program brings together fiction, documentary, and animation screens of state-of-the-art international cinema, through a selection of films that in their narratives and cinematic languages, take young people seriously.
“Britt and I started working together on the development of the film in 2018, and it’s an amazing recognition for her and for the whole team to see it selected in Berlin today. The Berlinale describes Generation as a section that celebrates films that ‘open doors to unfamiliar worlds’ and we could not imagine a more beautiful world premiere for Luce and the Rock,” said film producer Perrine Gauthier (also the founder of La Cabane and partner of Thuristar).
Luce and the Rock is a 2D animation short film co-produced by Thuristar (Belgium), La Cabane Productions (France), and Studio Pupil (The Netherlands), in co-production with VRT-Ketnet and RTBF, with the participation of France Televisions/Okoo in France. The short will air on these channels in Spring 2022. The festivals and international distribution of the film is handled by Miyu Distribution. The producers have recently started discussions regarding theatrical distribution in France, and an adaptation of the film into an illustrated children’s book is currently in development.
Luce and the Rock is Britt Raes’ second short film, who in 2016 wrote and directed Catherine, a short that was selected in over 150 festivals (Les Arcs, SXSW, BFI, and Melbourne, etc.) and awarded in Hiroshima, New York, Tokyo, Anima and more.
In this new film which tells the story of two unlikely friends who, although they seem to have nothing in common, end up facing their fears together, the Belgian director tackles the theme of the fear of the unknown towards a wide audience (from four years old).
Luce lives a happy life in a peaceful little village, together with Mom and the Villagers. Every day is the same, and that’s the way everyone likes it. The only thing that scares Luce is the dark – but luckily her little lightsticks keep her safe! One day a giant Rock Creature disturbs the quiet life in the village. He destroys all the houses including Luce’s! Luce is angry and determined to take the Rock Creature back to his home. But the Rock might have more in common with Luce than she first thought.
The film’s music is composed by Bram Meindersma, who is also the composer of Negative Space by Max Porter and Ru Kuwuhata (nominated for an Oscar in 2017), This Magnificent Cake! by Marc James Roels and Emma de Swaef (selected for the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes and nominated for the César in 2020) and The External World by David O’Reilly (selected at Venice and Sundance in 2010).
Completed in January 2021, the film will have its world premiere in Berlin and is already selected for Anima Brussels (in the Short films for young audiences category) and for other festivals whose selection has not yet been publicly announced.