Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, the Chilean filmmakers who have made a name for themselves with The Wolf House and The Hyperboreans, as well as collaborators of Ari Aster, will world premiere their third feature film, Donkey Princess (Princesa Burro), in the international competition program of the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival on Friday, Aug. 7.

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As was the case with their first two feature films, their new movie is an ambitious cinematic ride. And it comes in the form of an envelope-pushing fairy tale.

The Donkey Princess focuses on Diana, the princess of an ancient kingdom, whose father, King Arthur, has forbidden love. That is why, when Diana falls in love with Lalo, the King simply banishes him. “Using a magical bracelet, Diana travels to other worlds in search of her love,” explains a synopsis. “Discovering that her father manipulates her decisions, she must face her fears and change her destiny.”

The travels that Diana embarks on allow León and Cociña to use the places she visits as a way to explore different film periods and genres. “Diana travels through parallel worlds where each universe transforms the film’s genre,” the creative duo explains in a directors’ note on the Locarno website. “The film brings this constant mutation of realities into live action, where fantasy reshapes everything.”

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The cast is led by Antonia Giesen and also features Andrew Bargsted and Francisco Melo. Alejandra Moffat co-wrote the screenplay for Donkey Princess with the directors. The movie, featuring cinematography by Benjamín Echazarreta, was edited by Soledad Salfate, Maria Salazar, León and Cociña. Bendita Film Sales is handling international sales.

“Donkey Princess is our way of reimagining the history of fantasy cinema: a film that engages with this tradition while presenting our own vision of the genre,” León and Cociña highlight in a directors’ statement. “In The Wolf House, The Hyperboreans and in our short films, we have explored worlds where dreams and nightmares dominate the materiality of space, generating universes in constant construction, mutation and destruction. In Donkey Princess, we take these ideas and adapt them into a fiction feature film performed entirely by actors. The story is loosely inspired by the tale Donkeyskin, as recorded in writing by [Charles] Perrault and later adapted for the screen by Jacques Demy.”

But there is really no way to get a feel for a film by León and Cociña other than to watch it. THR can now exclusively premiere a trailer for Donkey Princess. So, check it out right here – and get ready to have your mind blown.

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