British animation studio Illuminated Films has released the trailer for its upcoming special A Bear Named Wojtek, a true story of a troop of Polish soldiers who find an inseparable bond through an orphaned bear they name Wojtek.
The film has been co-producted by Illuminated Films, Poland-based Filmograf and Wojtek Animation, and was first screened at the Rhode Island International Film festival. The half hour animated special tells the journey of an orphaned Syrian brown bear who was adopted by Polish soldiers during World War II, becoming a beacon of hope and an emblem of their fate.
The film is directed by Scottish writer, director and animator Iain Gardner, who is known for films like The Tannery, The Thief and the Cobbler, Ethel & Ernest and The Willows in Winter.
A Bear Named Wojtek has been produced by Iain Harvey and Wlodzimierz Matuszewski, written by Wojciech Lepianka, with music by Normand Roger. The film’s cast include Bill Paterson, Richard Gadd, Shauna MacDonald, Michael Golab, Tomek Borkowy, James Sutherland, Piotr Baumann, Remi Rachuba.
The film is due to screen at Argentina’s Anima – Córdoba International Animation Festival in October and Aesthetica Short Film Festival in New York and UK in November.