Chilean filmmakers Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña will world premiere their third feature, “Donkey Princess,” in the international competition at the Locarno Film Festival on August 7. The stop-motion animators, who have collaborated with Ari Aster on previous projects, describe the film as an attempt to reinvent the visual language of fantasy cinema.
The story follows Diana, princess of an ancient kingdom ruled by her father, King Arthur, who has outlawed love following the death of his wife. At fifteen, Diana falls for Lalo, a young man from a rival kingdom. When the king discovers the romance, he banishes Lalo, and Diana sets out using a magical bracelet that carries her across parallel worlds in search of him.
León and Cociña use that journey as a structural device, shifting film genres and eras as Diana moves between realities. “Diana travels through parallel worlds where each universe transforms the film’s genre,” the directors wrote in a note published on Locarno’s website, adding that the movie renders this shifting reality through live action rather than animation, a departure for a duo best known for handcrafted stop-motion work like “The Wolf House.”
Antonia Giesen leads the cast as Diana, with Andrew Bargsted and Francisco Melo in supporting roles. Alejandra Moffat co-wrote the screenplay alongside the directors. Benjamín Echazarreta handled cinematography, while Soledad Salfate, Maria Salazar and the two directors shared editing duties. The 90-minute film runs as a co-production spanning Chile, France, the Netherlands, Uruguay and Germany.
Bendita Film Sales has picked up international distribution rights, extending a relationship that began with “The Hyperboreans,” the directors’ 2024 feature that premiered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight. Bendita’s chief executive praised the pair’s blend of meticulous craftsmanship and inventive humor, calling the new film another leap forward in their body of work.
“Donkey Princess” enters Locarno’s competition lineup alongside films from Hong Sangsoo, Denis Côté and Gurvinder Singh, part of a slate the festival’s artistic director described as confronting present-day complexities without losing sight of storytelling and entertainment. The 79th edition of the festival runs August 5 through 15, screening 233 films from 69 countries, including 103 world premieres.
