Maya, Give Me a Title
Michel Gondry returns to his roots with this wildly creative animated omnibus, assembling surreal two-dimensional adventures to entertain his young daughter.
Living on a different continent to his four-year-old daughter, Maya, iconic French filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Mood Indigo, MIFF 2013) comes up with a way to connect with her: she gives him a title for a story, and he turns it into a handmade animated adventure. Across the years, Maya is rendered as a mermaid, alien, detective, sea captain and photojournalist – but will she reach a point where she outgrows dad’s game?
Assembling a host of animated miniatures that Gondry turned out across six years for an audience of one, Maya, Give Me a Title is a showcase for the director’s wild imagination. Recapturing the exuberant creative spirit of his legendary early music videos, Gondry uses paper cut-outs and stop-motion animation to entertain and engage with his child and the audience alike. Often peeling back to reveal his methods and offer a how-to primer for animation, the Berlinale Children’s Jury award-winner is a universal valentine to storytelling and its seminal place in the parent–child bond.
“Gondry expands his eclectic filmography with this rejuvenating fantasia, revealing another facet of his creativity … Offers a delicious mélange of the surreal and the silly for all ages.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Please note: screenings of Maya, Give Me a Title will be preceded by a short film, An Urban Allegory.
An Urban Allegory
France (2024, dir. Alice Rohrwacher & JR) – 21 mins
What happens when someone tries to leave the cave?
The question famously posited by Plato in Republic is explored here by filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher (La Chimera, MIFF 2023) and multimedia artist JR (Faces Places, co-directed with Agnès Varda, MIFF 2017) amid the kinetic rush of a modern city. Visually stunning, brimming with trademark imagination and featuring a cameo from legendary French auteur Leos Carax (Annette, MIFF 2021), An Urban Allegory is a beautifully succinct tale of seeing the world – and ourselves – in a different light.