Gentle Jaco

In the not so distant future, in a country under occupation, Sarah, the young daughter of a self-made scientist, inadvertently brings a clay man Jaco to life in her Father’s laboratory, where he tries to discover the secret of immortality in an attempt to save his wife, Sarah’s mother, who is dying to cancer. Too late. And as if life was not hard enough, Sarah also soon discovers her Father has been kidnapped by his arch-nemesis, an evil power hungry alchemist who will stop at nothing to gain the secrets of Jaco. Now, the clock is ticking and Sarah with a Jaco must enter a dangerous new world outside the safety of her family house to save her Father and defeat alchemist's own deadly clay monster Goliath. That is, if her gentle Jaco learns to overcome his inner fears.

Director’s statement
Gentle Jaco is an adventure drama being inspired by personal perspectives and experiences of the author’s family relations and traditions, with careful attention given to our hero duo of Sarah, a nine year old girl, and the character of a clay giant Jaco, who is based on author's cousin Jan, who was born with Down syndrome. It is Jaco who serves as the emotional and humorous catalyst of the family relationships and the source of gentle humor in our storytelling. The project is an animated homage to hardships of every real family, through the eyes of a little girl Sarah, who becomes Jaco's guide through the confusing world. What she doesn't know yet, is that in the end the real guide in her family relations is Jaco himself. The story speaks of the power of family and its need for necessary identity as it weaves a deeply moving tale of reconciliation, acceptance and forgiveness.