20/03/2014 - The animation is the second film in the director's "heroic trilogy"

Famous for her Crulic - The Path to Beyond [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anca Damian
film profile], Anca Damian has begun production on her latest project, The Magic Mountain [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. The film is being produced by Damian's Aparte Film, and co-produced by Arizona Productions (France, represented by Guillaume de Seille) and Filmograf (Poland, Wlodek Matuszevski). The budget amounts to approximately €1 million, taking into account backing from the Romanian National Film Center and the Polish Film Institute.

The focus of the project is Polish explorer Adam Jacek Winkler, portrayed by the film's team as a "Don Quixote of the 20th century", a dreamer who wanted to change the world, even if it cost him his life. An artist, photographer and mountain climber, Winkler fought on the side of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s, after the Soviet invasion. He would later climb Mont Blanc, leaving a flag of solidarity with the Afghan people on the summit.

The animated documentary will use Winkler's photography archive, his sketches and some footage that he shot, all brought to the big screen using Damian's usual blend of animation techniques, from collage to water colours and animated photography. Two studios in Romania, DSG and Abis, and one in Poland are responsible for the film's production. The music is being composed by Alexandru Balanescu. According to a press release, the domestic release is planned for the second half of next year.

Damian's previous animated effort, Crulic - The Path to Beyond, was selected at more than 130 film festivals around the world, winning dozens of awards, among them the Cristal for Best Feature at the 2012 edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Last year, the director released her second live-action feature, A Very Unsettled Summer [+see also:
trailer
film profile].