A remarkable film premiered out of competition in Cannes on Saturday: “Where is Anne Frank”. This animation film by Ari Folman, a co-production with, among others, the Flemish production house Walking The Dog, took years.
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The iconic figure of Anne Frank, who symbolizes the Shoah, the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime during WWII, is not the main character, but Kitty is. She is an imaginary, non-Jewish best friend to whom Anne Frank could share her thoughts. The girl kept a diary from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944 in her shelter in Amsterdam until she and her family were also deported to a concentration camp. The diary – published in 1947 – was translated into 70 languages and sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Ari Folman, creator of the animated film “Waltz with Bashir” (2008), starts from the figure of Kitty. An original approach to make the link with current events, with the world today. Last year 17 million children were forced to flee war and violence. The accessible drawing style accentuates that bold premise.
The Diary of Anne Frank was previously filmed in Hollywood in 1959 by George Stevens and was awarded three Oscars.
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