Screen can exclusively reveal the first trailer for Czech director Michaela Pavlátová’s My Sunny Maad, which is due to world premiere in the main feature competition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 14-19).

Paris-based company Totem Films is handling international sales on the animation about a Czech woman who falls in love with an Afghan man and then follows him to post-Taliban Afghanistan, where she has no idea of the life that awaits her or the family she is about to join.

It was adapted by Ivan Arsenjev and Yaël Levy from the novel Frista by Czech journalist and humanitarian worker Petra Petra Procházková.

It is Pavlátová’s second solo feature and first animated feature. She was previously Oscar-nominated for her 1993 animation short Words, Words, Words and won Annecy’s Cristel award for best short film for Tram in 2012.

Producers are Petr Oukropec at Czech production company Negativ, Ron Dyens at award-winning French animation house Sacrebleu Productions (Marona’s Fantastic Tale) and Peter Badač at Slovakian company BFILM. Diaphana Films has taken French rights. 

”Michaela Pavlátová and her producer Sacrebleu have strong ties with Annecy, following the Cristal win for Tram in 2012. It made sense for them to show their fidelity and attachment to the festival, by premiering My Sunny Maad at the festival,” said Totem Films co-head Laure Parleani.  

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