The sun is coming down on the field of Chateau de Labourdonnais, in the North of the island, on this Saturday, 15 October. A flow of people, parents and children, are gathering with their mats, chairs and blankets. Though we are already in summer, at this time in the evening, the North can be chilly.

400 people are there waiting eagerly for the darkness to fall on the field to start watching the animation film ‘Even Mice Belong in Heaven’. For that purpose, a giant inflatable screen has been set up for the unique outdoor screening of the 4^th edition of the European Film Festival of Mauritius.

The animation film is part of the database of films that the Consortium Goethe Institute-Institut Français provides EU Delegations around the world with access to for the organisation of their European Film Festivals. It was selected by David Constantin, Mauritian film director and the curator of the EFF of Mauritius as part of this year’s theme: ‘Partir, Ailleurs’ (that can be literally translated as Let’s Go, Somewhere).

Directed by Jan Bubenicek and Denisa Grimmová, this film was presented in several festivals and won the Best Animation Film award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2021.

The film is about two enemies, a mouse and a fox, who have an accident. As they meet each other again in heaven, they become best friends. The film is a lovely story about friendship and deals with a difficult subject – death.  But for the sake of children, this issue is tackled  in a light and hopeful way.

The screening of the Czech animation film in the context of the 4th European Film Festival in Mauritius was made possible thanks to the support of the Embassy of the Czech Republic and Ciné sous les étoiles.