story
In 1811, Mary Anning, an inquisitive and tenacious twelve-year-old girl, spends her days searching for fossils. Her father passed on this passion to her, but her life suddenly changes when he disappears, leaving behind a mysterious drawing and a struggling family. Determined to help her mother and brother, Mary tries to uncover the secret of the drawing. She will discover so much more than just fossils: friendships, adventures, and the very start of palaeontology.
author
Born in 1985 in Lodrin, Switzerland. An animated film director and picture book author, Barelli lives and works in Geneva. He loves animals and nature, which is why he develops all his projects in connection with them. His short films have been selected for numerous international festivals, where they have won many awards. Mary Anning is his first feature film.
filmography (selection)
2022 Autosaurus Rex
2024 Martha
2025 Mary Anning
“Mary Anning is a poor girl, barely making it through the day, and society looks at her with disapproval. Her strength is in her consistency, her determination. She embodies the positive force that I wanted to convey in the film; she insists on continuing to do what she loves, something right and important.” - Marcel Barelli
Mary Anning Mary Anning, chasseuse de fossils
Screenings
directed by Marcel Barelli , screenplay Marcel Barelli, Pierre-Luc Granjon, Magali Pouzol , animation Maelle Chevallier, editing Maelle Chevallier, music Shyle Zalewski , producers Nicolas Burlet, Arnaud Demuynck, Tatjana Kozar , world sales Be For Films,
festivals, awards Annecy 2025, Locarno 2025
IMDbPhotos
What's On
Stealing Land Zemljo krast
Žiga Virc
Monday, 20. 04. 2026 / 16:20 / Main Hall
When a children’s game sparks political debates at the dinner table, an evening of absurd conflicts, low blows, and unexpected confrontations begins… This feature-length film is a sparkling, witty social satire in which parents fight not only for a better future for their children, but also for their own egos.
Ten Skies Ten Skies
James Benning
Monday, 20. 04. 2026 / 18:00 / Main Hall
“I’m thinking of my landscape works now as anti-war artworks—they’re about the antithesis of war, the kind of beauty we’re destroying. The Ten Skies works came about because I’m thinking about what the opposite of war is” – James Benning
No Other Choice Eojjeol suga eopda
Park Chan-wook
Monday, 20. 04. 2026 / 20:15 / Main Hall
A highly entertaining and very timely satire filled with dark humour, vivid characters, and dizzying twists, following a family man who devises his own peculiar way of dealing with unemployment. Prepared over twenty years by Korean master Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Handmaiden), the film is among the leading contenders for an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature Film.