NO DOGS OR ITALIANS ALLOWED

In this captivating and utterly charming animation, seasoned French documentarian Alain Ughetto follows the true story of his grandparent’s relocation from a mountain village in Ughettera, Northern Italy to start a new life in France. Set during times of great hardship, it combines moving, family centred neo realist storytelling with exquisite stop frame animation. The expressive moulded characters are combined with imaginative use of makeshift props – sugar cubes as bricks, sprigs of broccoli as trees – and Ughetto occasionally breaks the fourth wall to insert his creative hands into the story to adjust the set and connect himself with his descendants.

Based on childhood conversations with his grandmother and spanning four decades of war, famine, flu, fascism – and, above all, love – it’s a touching and often humorous story of resilience and new beginnings.