The Horizons section also featured Born in the Jungle, an animated family adventure for the whole family that premiered less than two weeks ago at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Although the story is set in Venezuela, the film is a co-production between Latvia, Poland and the Czech Republic. At KVIFF, the film was presented by Czech co-producer Vladimír Lhoták together with Sofie Petráková, the Czech voice actress behind the film’s young heroine, who ventures into the jungle in search of her little brother.
“Living in the jungle would certainly be interesting, but I’m afraid of spiders and insects, and there are plenty of those there, so it probably wouldn’t be ideal for me,” Sofie said when asked whether she would like to live in the Amazon rainforest like her character. The young actress also dubs live-action feature films. “With animation, I can have more fun with my voice and add different sounds, screams and things like that,” she explained, comparing dubbing live-action feature films with animated features.
Although Born in the Jungle tells a fictional children’s adventure story, it was inspired by a real person: Aleksandrs Laime. “He was something like the Latvian version of Czech traveller Emil Holub. In the 1950s, he lived with his family in the Amazon rainforest and made a number of cartographic and anthropological discoveries,” said Vladimír Lhoták.
The post-screening discussion also touched on the role of AI in animation. “When it comes to animated films, I think we’re at a stage where technology can help with routine tasks. This film was made using traditional methods: it was first drawn by hand, and then completed in software that allows animators to work with multiple layers. I believe that the creative side of filmmaking will remain in the hands of creators in the future as well,” the producer said.
In the case of Born in the Jungle, the creative vision originated in Latvia, primarily with director Edmunds Jansons, while one third of the animation and the sound post-production were completed in the Czech Republic. According to Lhoták, coproduction is financially essential for European animated films. “Animation has a rich tradition in Europe and differs from the mainstream. It makes sense to produce films that have a different narrative rhythm, are more contemplative and accessible to younger children as well,” said the Czech producer, whose previous credits include the acclaimed animated feature Even Mice Belong in Heaven.
