The Girl Who Wasn’t Afraid of the Bear

A storm surprises two children, Aina and Bernard, while they are playing in the woods. They decide to hide in a dark cave and wait out the downpour. Bernard plays with the light of a torch, scaring his friend. Frightened, Aina runs to hide deeper into the cave. She clings to her teddy bear, but her fear transforms the toy into a real beast. When she wants to show it to Bernard, she is disappointed to find that he cannot see it. Aina lets the bear lead her further into the glowing cave. Their journey together turns into an adventurous pilgrimage through dreams and fantasies, where Aina, in her newfound independence, gains courage, joy of creating and acting on her own. Soon, however, Aina's own imagination begins to get out of hand and turns against her. She realizes that without reality and human contact, but especially without acceptance of herself, it won't work. The wild animal that accompanied her in the depths of the cave becomes a part of her. Aina emerges into the light as a teenage woman. Outside the cave, her friend, young man Bernard, is waiting for her.

Director’s statement
The Girl Who Wasn't Afraid of the Bear is a project of a four-member team, composed of animation and screenwriting students. The theme of growing up and finding one's own identity is important for each of us. During the creation process, we realized that nobody gave us a manual for dealing with adolescence. We all had to fight through it differently. And that's the message of our film: it's okay to grow up in your own way and at your own pace. Our protagonist, Aina, discovers her unknown strength and fragility as she grows up. She finds them in a cave that symbolizes her inner world. Her story is a rite of passage that will be narrated as an animated visual poem with the potential to appeal especially to young adults.