Otis

Sofi and Hugo are two siblings who live alone, far from civilization, in an old, rusty boat. Not because they chose to, but because they are stuck there. They live their daily lives, taking care of each other and never losing hope that one day they will finally meet their mother again. But they are not entirely alone, there is also a big robot with them, which is broken. When Hugo turns ten, he forces his sister to leave the ship and go in search of their mother in the town of Ekk, as they had agreed. They have to turn on the robot to get out of the shipwreck, and in doing so they discover that the robot is also heading to Ekk. The siblings join the robot, though they don‘t know for sure if or why OTIS (as they decide to call him) is going there. The adventure begins. The journey to Ekk is fraught with danger. The landscape is ravaged by world war, full of bloodthirsty plants and mutated animals. The children, led and protected only by the damaged robot Otis, must overcome their fears and work together to survive the journey. As they face one obstacle after another, Sofi is haunted by a secret she can‘t share with Hugo - she‘s seen proof that their mother may not be waiting for them in Ekk after all. Along the way, the children meet an impulsive woman, Valerie, whom they don‘t know whether to trust or not. However, as they are already very hungry, they are tempted and go with Valeria to „The Pit“, a place where a community of people live. Here the siblings have a pleasant time, finally have enough food and entertainment, and maybe even fall in love. They enjoy their stay in the Pit until they discover that it is all a trap and Valerie and her people want to steal their robot. Sofi and Hugo decide to escape. However, they fail to reach safety with Otis and their paths diverge. Sofi does everything she can to reunite with her brother, and after a successful reunion they must defeat their pursuers together. When they succeed, they can continue on to their goal - the city of Ekk. The huntress Valerie eventually joins them cunningly, but when the siblings finally pass through the magnificent gates with the help of Otis, the coveted city does not look as they had dreamed. It turns out, however, that nature is healing itself from the forces of destruction, and the siblings‘ disappointment quickly dissipates when they discover what the robot has been hiding all along their journey.

Director’s statement
A long time ago, I started thinking about the concept of a robot trapped in the wilderness as a fun idea that could be used for my master‘s film. Over time, more ideas and scenes for the film began to emerge. One day, this small, innocent idea grew into a story that I quickly realized I couldn‘t handle as a student with limited time and budget. So, I put the paper with my notes in a drawer and began thinking about other projects. A few years later, I rediscovered those notes and realized the story still has potential. I reached out to close friends—artists and producers—to see if they’d be interested in working on my first feature film about a robot trapped on a cliff. I never imagined how far this idea could go. Cut to a few years later, and this story has undergone several major revisions, workshops, and pitch sessions (CEE Animation Workshop, CARTOON MOVIE, CARTOON SPRINGBOARD...). Many talented people have joined the project, each bringing something new and valuable to the film. Our pitch caught attention almost everywhere we presented it, and the news about this upcoming post-apocalyptic sci-fi for children spread across several countries. Thanks to all this, I’ve been able to maintain my motivation and belief, even after all this time, that this debut will be meaningful not only for children but also for any generation that chooses to spend an hour and a half of their time on it. The story is about two siblings trying to face their inner and outer demons, a resilient robot determined to protect its loved ones and complete its mission, and ordinary people forced into difficult choices by harsh circumstances. I am proud that, thanks to the entire team, this film has transformed from a small idea into a story that captures important existential themes, such as dealing with fear, loss, mutual understanding, difference, acceptance, and the acknowledgment that we can all make mistakes sometimes. Just like the film itself, the characters in this world, despite the odds, maintain a sense of humor, irony, and a love for life. Combine all of this with the diversity of a beautiful world full of dense, colorful forests, old city ruins reclaimed by nature, gigantic robots lying on mountains as if asleep, and cliffs towering high above the open ocean, and you get a rich, complete story for both children and adults, called Otis.