France, Germany, Czech Republic, 2021, 80’
In French with English and Slovenian subtitles

A plundered village, a fleeing family, and two stray children on the road of exile: Kyona and Adriel are trying to escape from their pursuers and reach some more welcoming country. During their initiatory trip from childhood to adolescence, they will have to cross an entire continent obsessed with hunting down migrants, and to go through many trials, both real and surreal, in order to discover a New World, free at last!

Directed by: Florence Miailhe
Written by: Marie Desplechin, Florence Miailhe
Artistic director: Youri Tcherenkov
Animation: Valentine Delqueux, Marie Juin, David Martin, Aurore Peuffier, Anita Brüvere, Ewa Łuczkow, Paola de Sousa, Aline Helmcke, Urte Zintler, Ewa Łuczkow, Lucie Sunková, Polina Kazak, Eva Skurská, Anna Paděrová, Zuzana Studená, Marta Szymanska
Editing: Julie Dupré, Nassim Gordji Tehrani
Music: Philipp E. Kümpel
Voices: Emilie Lan Dürr, Florence Miailhe, Maxime Gemin, Arthur Perreira, Serge Avedikian, Axel Auriant, Jocelyne Desverchère, Marc Brunet
Production director: Marcela Vrátilová
Producers: Dora Benousilio, Luc Camilli, Olivier Père, Martin Vandas
Production: Les Films de l’Arlequin, Balance Film, Maur Film, XBO Films
Distribution: Indie Sales

This film owes its existence to my longing to tell the story of my own family, my grandparents having come to France with their children in the early 1990s. Their fate enabled me and my scriptwriter Marie Desplechin to voice the subject of immigration, which is again becoming the focus of world attention.
Our memories and indeed our lives often originate in the painful stories of immigrants who had once arrived in our country. We would like to present them in a feature length animated film that would expressively capture the nature of such experience. The result would be based not only on the memories of our direct ancestors, but also on collective memory, people’s dreams, historical tales, and old legends.
- Florence Miailhe

The Crossing is told through the memories of an old woman: after all those years Kyona narrates what happened a long time ago when she was still a child. The commentary voice-over technique is especially suitable for an animated movie. It gives the film a unifying element, continuity, it bridges narrative ellipses. What’s more, it emphasises the magic and subjective character of the painting without losing us in the plot.

Awards and festivals (selection):
- Best Feature Film Jury Distinction and Nominee for the Best Feature Cristal, Annecy IAFF 2021
- Grand Prize and Audience Prize in Feature Film International Competition, Bucheon IAFF 2021
- Free Spirit Award Nominee and Special Mention, Warsaw IFF 2021
- Nominee for Best Film, Leipzig DOK Festival 2021
- Nominee for Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Prize, San Sebastián IFF 2021