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Bergamo - Host City

The first event to mention is the presentation of ‘Tales from the Magic Garden’. It is the story of a loss, recovered through the magical art of storytelling. Presenting the film was an Italian distributor, Trent Film (Scirocco e il Regno dei Venti), who emphasized the wonderful collaboration of the four countries; with joint efforts, this film was created in Europe. His lecture on the importance of collaboration was assisted by the children—an initiative of the festival to hold a separate section called Kino Club and to invite schools around Bergamo to participate in the screenings. It was full of chaos and questions, but the distributor was happy to answer them. 

Read Also: Our interview with the 'Tales from the Magic Garden' directors

Continuing on the topic of the Kino Club, the director of Fest Anča, Jakub Spevák, had brought a selection of short animated films from his festival to showcase at the Bergamo Film Meeting. Different in form and content, this year's shorts were united by the themes of loneliness, miscommunication, and a generational clash. As the great artist Ildikó Enyedi said in her Q&A held at the festival the evening before: ‘We are different, but at the same time – birth, love, death – the most personal experiences are those we share with all human beings. I do what I love — film — for three years of working every day. I hope it will reconnect people; just reaching out to people, to loved ones, it seems not like much, but it is something.’ I would highlight two short films that express this paradox of shared and personal experiences best.

1. ‘The Night Tunnel’ by Annechein Strouven (France, Belgium, 2024) A story of the acceptance of loneliness by a young boy stuck alone on a beach with his dog. By digging a tunnel to another beach with another child and her pet, he leaves his dog behind. In the end, without saying a single word in the short, he finds a balance. Even though the tunnel is closed, he has found a new way of communicating and enjoying himself. 
2. Bobel’s Kitchen by Fiona Rolland (Belgium, 2024). 
   A stunning stop-motion animation on the theme of miscommunication in the modern world. An Amanita decides to run a bakery business. Until we slowly realize that being an Amanita is a death sign for everyone else. Using no words but creatively treated signs on the screen, this short film addresses breaking racism allegations based on fear of other mushrooms to bring the bakery to success.

The festival is held in the relatively small Italian town of Bergamo. In the main hall of the venue, a big poster featuring pinscreen animation was displayed. It was the main adult category of animation present at the festival. Apart from the retrospectives dedicated to this particular animation technique, two contemporary artists were present. 

Two Artists 

Irina Rubina presented her ‘Contradiction of emptiness’ (Germany, 2024). This abstract short was animated during Irina’s residency in Quebec City, Canada. During the residency stay, Irina Rubina had access to the pinscreen machinery and tools. She shot a few tracks of footage and then, after coming back home, started working on the structure and the voiceover, which she recorded herself. The film’s main formal topic is languages—both Russian and German—two languages with a history of killing. As Irina explains, the film is aimed to go beyond the active viewer, to make the viewer act and defend against aggression. At the same residency, a few prints were also created with a pin screen machine. Irina brought them for sale so people could see and buy them, as the earnings go to support Ukraine. 

Irina Rubina at the Bergamo Film Meeting 2026. Watch more in our video interview with Irina Rubina 

During the same time slot, a few student short films were presented, including ‘You Are My Light’ by Hana Stehlíková (Czech Republic, 2024). This short animated film explores, also in an abstract manner, the relationship between a mother and her newborn child. It is a story that unveils the difficulties of motherhood that can consume a person. In the end, however, as in many other short films seen at the festival, a new way of communication is found that saves the mother. 

The second contemporary artist of the festival was Pierre-Luc Granjon. His ‘The Night Boots’ (France, 2024) was warmly welcomed by the audience in the hall. This Oscar-shortlisted film is a fairy tale, but a good one; a tale of friendship and the acceptance of being alone. As Mr. Granjon explained, the forest was never a scary place from a tale for him. Having been brought up near one, he spent a lot of time playing there; the forest is a playground for children where they learn and comprehend themselves and life. His short film reflects this approach to childhood. His main message at the festival, which he repeatedly told the audience on and off-screen, was: ‘This tender film of mine is against all the bad things that are happening in the world.’ This is the key to his approach: art as something that elaborates on reality, sometimes showing its restrictions, but using contrast to show the good side. 

Read Also: Our film review of 'The Night Boots'

After an evening buffet, the journalists moved towards the beautiful hall where the masterclasses were held. This time, we had a chance to assist in Pierre-Luc Granjon’s storytelling of his journey as an artist and get a glimpse of his future works. 

The masterclass 

Pierre-Luc Granjon

Mr. Granjon revealed a few very curious technical details regarding animation and his working process. The first is his rapport with lighting. For example, during the lighting stage of the production of ‘Le loup blanc’, a short film realized on a multiplane (four layers of glass fixed one over another), the composition created a challenge as everything tended to leave a shadow on the layer beneath it. His DOP, Sara Sponga, found a way to light everything down to the smallest details, giving the director the possibility to use lighting as he did on his 3D puppet stages in the past. 

The second challenge came while working on ‘L'enfant sans bouche’ a short film made in papier-mâché. It was a simple story made with almost no budget—a single layer of paper pressed by a glass panel. It tells the story of a child who lacks a mouth and grows one only when absolutely necessary to save his rabbit friend. This tender and kind movie is voiced by a child—more precisely, the producer's daughter. She was quite bored during the process, so it took nearly three weeks, working just five minutes a day. The final result – a very touching voice-over by a child telling a story with her incredible intonation, which naturally guides the viewer and makes all the right impressions. 

Pierre-Luc's working process is full of creative liberty. When working on a new project, he usually starts with an idea or a striking image, such as the scene of killing a rabbit in ‘Le loup blanc’. This grounding visual later turns into character sketches, a storyline, and finally a production storyboard. His next project in development will be a bit different; to allow for as much creative freedom as possible, he would like to try shooting without a storyboard. He plans to arrive at the studio each day with a story in mind but without a clear idea of how to bring it to life visually, allowing for the "creativity of hands"—the artist's ability to create without overthinking. By focusing on the story and letting the artisanal skill take over, he might find new creative possibilities, and we will certainly have a great new movie to watch. 

During the Bergamo Film Meeting, we conducted an interview in which we asked him more questions about his art.  

Watch our video report for the 2026 Bergamo Film Meeting

The 2026 Bergamo Film Festival took place from 7 to 15 March in Bergamo, Italy.

Reported by: Viktor Smolkin

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