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"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." – Mahatma Gandhi
Clara is a 13-year-old who lives with her mother and stepfather in the Swiss Alps. One day, Clara sights a bear cub near her mountaintop home and is delighted, but the locals from the village are less enthusiastic – they resent the reintroduction of bears into the wild and are suspicious of an old story about a bear-woman who cursed the village. When Clara discovers she can see back through time she witnesses another girl who, 200 years earlier, also had to protect the bears from cruel and ignorant humans.
Part ghost story that stretches across two centuries and part ecological tale about learning to co-exist with nature, Clara and the Secret of the Bears is a magical family drama with a profound message.
MIFF recommends ages 12+