“This story is neither a piece of natural history nor is it a lesson in Arctic geography; it is a fairy-tale, and, like all good stories, it can take place anywhere and at any time.” - Jannik Hastrup

The Boy Who Wanted to Be a Bear is an animated masterpiece. Using simple lines and stark beautiful designs, Jannik Hastrup (Denmark’s internationally acclaimed Grandmaster of animation) imbues his images and characters with a raw emotional power that is rarely attained - even by live actors. This enchanting, award-winning film from Les Armateurs (the production studio behind the Academy Award® nominated The Triplets of Belleville) also features music by Bruno Coulais (composer of Winged Migration, the Academy Award® nominated documentary).

Based on an Inuit legend and set in a mythical (yet totally modern) arctic land the tale examines maternal love, family bonds, grief, obsession, native mysticism, revenge, animal instincts, nature versus nurture and basic survival.

After her cub is stillborn, a mother bear is grieving to death on the ice-flows, so her mate steals the newborn son of a human hunter and his wife. With his new ursine parents, the boy is raised as a bear, learning the skills needed to survive in the wild and romping playfully in the snow with his friend Raven and a young female cub. By the time he is discovered by his parents and brought back to town, he is no longer a human being and Little Bear turns to the Animal Spirits for guidance. Warning: some material in this film may not be suitable for younger children.

The kid-friendly screening on Saturday is dubbed in English; and on Sunday we present the original subtitled version.