07/08/2026 - The latest film by the Chilean directorial duo composed of Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña - who are known for their stop-motion universe - also features flesh and blood actors for the first time

Chilean directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, who’ve been working as a duo since their very first short film, are presenting Donkey Princess - a mysterious, polymorphous and unclassifiable work straddling animation, horror tale and genre film tribute – in the Locarno Film Festival’s International Competition. Following the success of their stop-motion feature film debut, The Wolf House, and their surrealist medium-length movie, The Hyperboreans, which combines stop-motion animation, puppetry and live action, the directorial duo are now taking things a step further, introducing flesh and blood actors into this their latest feature film. Taking us on a hallucinatory journey which (re)introduces viewers to various fantasy film subgenres (ranging from historical fantasy to pop sci-fi), the film offers a re-reading of the fairy tale princess character to reveal the dark and troubling side of her seemingly dreamlike life.

The protagonist of the film is Diana (Antonia Giesen), a princess who lives in a fairy-tale realm where, on the orders of her father (Francisco Melo), a king who has lost his beloved queen, love is forbidden. But inevitably, Diana falls in love with her prince, who’s actually a peddler called Lalo (Andrew Bargsted). When the kind finds out about their relationship he bans Lalo from the realm, leaving Diana alone and inconsolable. But the story takes a different turn when the latter uses the magic bracelet Lalo gifted her to make her greatest wish come true: to be able to live with him forever (as any self-respecting fairy tale would dictate). Our protagonist subsequently sets out on a voyage which takes her to other worlds - a futuristic city, a tropical beach - before leading her back to the realm she’s trying to escape. She’s joined on this adventure by Lalo and her father, who take on ever-changing identities. Surrounded by surreal scenery reminiscent of the unsettling, hallucinatory world of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and Anton Corbijn’s music video for Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box”, the film’s anti-heroine must adapt to every new reality she’s faced with when she uses her magic bracelet. And this process of adaptation helps her transform from a naive princess waiting for a prince to rescue her to a rebellious daughter who’s only too aware of the hetero-patriarchal rules restricting her. Fed up of being manipulated by her father but also tired of chasing an increasingly stereotypical and unsatisfying form of happiness, Diana does everything she can to change her destiny.

An undeniably unusual film, Donkey Princess might be seen as a true exercise in style, or a tribute to genre cinema which is often seen as secondary. Exquisitely handcrafted but also technically sophisticated – blending live action shots with elements typical of 2D animation, alongside computer-generated images, carefully crafted decor and an intriguing score (by France’s Jean-Benoît Dunckel of the Air duo) – the movie imposes itself as a hallucinatory journey pushing the boundaries of film itself. Whilst its 2D stop-motion animated images take us back to the magic of early cinema, the latent darkness which gradually winds its way into the story lends the work a more contemporary and almost apocalyptic feel. Donkey Princess is a strange film (in the positive sense of the word) and, ultimately, this is its strength.

Donkey Princess was produced by León & Cociña Films (Chile) and Globo Rojo Films (Chile) alongside Metonymie (France), Montelona (Uruguay), Viking Film (Netherlands) and Autentika Films (Germany). Bendita Film Sales is managing world sales.

(Translated from Italian)