Czech animator and illustrator Kristína Dufková will be unveiling her feature-length debut, the stop-motion puppet film Living Large (listen to our podcast), in the official competition of the upcoming Annecy Film Festival (see the news). Dufková’s work is another Czech stop-motion puppet film to enjoy its premiere at Annecy following last year’s Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light [+lee también:
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Living Large is an adaptation of the literary work La vie, en gros by French author Mikaël Ollivier. The coming-of-age story, adapted for the big screen by Petr Jachovský and Barbora Dřevikovská, follows 12-year-old Ben, a budding chef from a divorced family, who struggles with obesity, which leads to bullying and a stern warning from the school nurse. Motivated by his crush on Klara and supported by his family and his friend Erik, he starts a diet, ultimately regaining his zest for life and mending his friendships. Despite the challenges, Ben's journey is marked by personal growth, leading to newfound love and restored relationships.

The choice of classic puppetry as the primary technique for portraying the protagonist, Ben, and his perception of the world around him stems from the desire to imbue the character with empathy, particularly through the exaggeration and detachment afforded by puppet animation. Additionally, dream sequences and Ben's subjective worldview will be depicted through expressive, drawn animation reminiscent of painting, seamlessly blended with puppet backgrounds to enrich the storytelling palette. Comparable in visual style and thematic resonance to films such as Adam Elliot's Mary and Max and Claude Barras's My Life as a Courgette [+lee también:
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Ben's journey unfolds as he confronts his previously concealed battle with obesity, driven by a desire to win the affection of his classmate Klara while wrestling with his passion for food and cooking. Through the interplay of puppetry and expressive, drawn animation, the film explores a range of emotions and situations, from the comical to the absurd, offering a nuanced portrayal of Ben's fluctuations in weight. Drawing from traditional Czech puppetry techniques pioneered by Jiří Trnka, the film's production team, in collaboration with industry experts such as Ian Mackinnon and David Filcík, focuses on refining puppet construction, particularly facial expressions, to enhance visual expressiveness and articulation. This meticulous craftsmanship extends to lip-syncing, ensuring a seamless integration of voice performances with character animation. Living Large has already been sold to multiple territories, including Japan, Spain, Portugal, and countries in the Baltics and the Middle East.

Living Large is a production by Barletta Production (Czech Republic), and is being co-produced by Novinski (Slovakia), Novanima Productions (France) and Czech Television. The film has been supported by the Czech Film Fund, Creative Europe – MEDIA, Eurimages, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the CNC and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Gebeka International handles the international rights. Aerofilms handles the theatrical release in the Czech Republic, with the local premiere set for 17 October.