Tree Secrets

No Dogs or Italians Allowed(fr)

Early 20th century, in the Ughetto family's home village, Ughettera, Northern Italy. Life in the region had become very difficult and the Ughettos dreamed of a better life abroad. Legend has it that Luigi Ughetto crossed the Alps and started a new life in France, thus changing his beloved family's destiny forever. His grandson retraces their story.

Alice(pt)

Wish You Were Here(en)

A reflection on loss, grief, and growing up without a sibling written as a letter from a brother to his deceased younger sister.

George the Hedgehog(pl)

Jez Jerzy is a skateboarding hedgehog who likes to drink beer and fondle breasts. He finds it hard to pursue his passions, however, while being tormented by neo-nazi skinheads, mad scientists and a drooling, flatulent clone of himself.

Redline(ja)

The most dangerous and exciting car race in the universe is held only once every five years. And that's tonight. The competitors are lined up at the starting block. In his vehicle, JP, the most daredevil driver on the circuit, is ready for the green light. Female driver Sonoshee, with whom he is secretly in love, is also on the starting line. She will stop at nothing to get on to that podium. In this race, not only is anything possible, but also anything is allowed. In fact, their adversaries have modified their vehicles to equip them with highly destructive weapons; with such participants, it is hardly surprising that Redline is forbidden by the authorities, who will try anything to halt the proceedings.

The Treasure of Bird Island(cs)

People living on an island finds a treasure, but it does not only do them good.

Sandman(en)

Characters morph into objects and each other in this stop motion animation made with sand.

The Mascot(fr)

A toy stuffed dog has just been sewn together when it hears a young child ask for an orange. The child's mother explains that they have no money, and so she cannot buy any oranges. The dog is then packed up along with a box full of other toys to be sold, but it soon winds up in the street. The dog picks up an orange from a curb side stand, and hopes to take it home to the child. But that night, before the dog can get back to the child's home, it must face a series of strange and frightening adventures.

Winter Days(ja)

Winter Days is a 2003 animated film, directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. It is based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names of animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).

Dead Times(fr)

What is man? Man makes war, man kills man, man hunts, man is executed. A montage mixing original drawings by Topor, original shots and stock shots that ironically analyze what man is.

The Flying Windmill(de)

Olli, the main character in the movie, got a very bad grade and is terribly annoyed. She runs away from home and, together with a dog and a horse, finds a (mad? nutty?) scientist in a windmill. They experience the strangest adventures in this windmill and find other interesting characters, a lot of excitement and peril. While you may well interpret something as the "socialist value system" into this movie, it is more meant to be a children's movie, showing the kids that there are more exciting things out there than the ones that your parents and teachers show you, and that you will only find out most of those things on your own, if you show enough curiosity.

Junk Head(ja)

Mankind attains longevity through gene manipulation, but finds itself on the road to extinction when the species loses the ability to reproduce. Their clones who rebelled 1,600 years ago are now known as Marigans and rule the bottomless underworld. Some of them seem to have become fertile and the government takes this as a ray of hope and decides to send civilians in to carry out an ecological study. Selected for the mission, Parton sets off on an adventure through a subterranean labyrinth crawling with monsters in order to secure humanity’s future.

Colors of Wind(ja)

Yuri leaves Ryo with mysterious words. Ryo goes to Hokkaido knowing that his doppelganger magician is missing. Ryo realizes Yuri was also the magician’s lover and he learns magic. The story that crosses over two identities, illusion and magic.

Madeleine(en)

A girl is invited to a TV show to explain why she has murdered 239 people.

Four Faces of the Moon(en)

Follow the animated journey of an Indigenous photographer as she travels through time. The oral and written history of her family reveals the story — we witness the impact and legacy of the railways, the slaughter of the buffalo and colonial land policies.

Imagination(en)

Dr. Reineger, a famous neuro-psychologist, has become convinced that a twin girl named Anna has a rare form of Autism called Asperger's Syndrome, rendering her unable to cope with reality. As for her blind sister, Sarah, the doctor cannot say for sure why her imaginary visions map so close to Anna's. At home, unable to face reality, their father leaves the family. To escape the pain, the girls sink deeper and deeper into their imagination. When a major earthquake takes their mother's life, Reineger gets more involved with helping the now-orphaned twins, while struggling with his realization that the girls seem to be capable of prophetic visions. The girls escape the doctor's institution and a subsequent search finds no trace of them. Have they transcended the physical realm? A mixture of live action, stop motion animation and other techniques makes this film a fantastic journey into the realm of imagination.

Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth(ja)

Athena receives the visit of Phoebus Abel, her older brother and God of the Corona. He informs her that he has come to destroy humanity as punishment for their corruption, just as it was done in ancient times. He dismisses Seiya and the Bronze Saints, as she will now be guarded by Abel's three Corona Saints, Atlas of Carina, Jaow of Lynx and Berenike of Coma Berenices, and the five resurrected Gold Saints who died in the Sanctuary battle: Saga of Gemini, Deathmask of Cancer, Shura of Capricorn, Camus of Aquarius and Aphrodite of Pisces. When Athena rebels against Abel's plan, he attacks her, sending her soul to Elysion, the final resting place from which there is no return. The Bronze Saints immediately rush to the Sanctuary to save her and ultimately overcome Abel.

To Love, Honor and Deceive(en)

Sydney Carpenter is a devoted mother to her young son, and is now accustomed to the puzzling existence of her mysterious, non-communicative husband, Matthew. When her husband and son are suddenly lost at sea after a boating accident, Sydney's comfortable existence is shattered. Although overwhelmed by her grief, Sydney cannot ignore the strange pieces from her husband's past that continue to make their way into the present.

The Perfect Man(en)

A mustachioed dandy gallops up and scales a high tower to "rescue" a sweet, innocent-looking damsel. She captures him and ties him down, for what he thinks will be a kinky little tryst...

The Amazing Mr. Bickford(en)

Several pieces of Frank Zappa's music are set against clay animation by Bruce Bickford.