Starting from 20 April, My Favorite War will be screened in around 50 French cinemas in cities like Paris, Marseilles, Cannes, Cherbourg and others. This film is important for France because in 2020 it won the the Contrechamp programme award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (Festival international du film d’animation d’Annecy); success in this festival is the best milestone for animation films in their further path to the viewers. Until now, despite the Covid restrictions, the film has been screened in more than fifty festivals all around the world.
Director Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen will meet the French viewers before several screenings of the film: “Since the end of February, I feel a constant sorrow and anxiety; thoughts about Ukraine seem like a persistent shadow that follows everything. Every recent interview about this film starts with the words: “Your film is suddenly so topical,” and I have to say, “Yes. Unfortunately.” But for the moment it is the contribution that we can provide to explain to the world what an immortal beast of prey the Soviet Union is.”
The film has received good response from foreign critics and cinema reviewers. “The combination of the narrator’s personal feeling and historical events not only moves you, but also makes you watch with enthusiasm”, “An example for what I would call a different type of animation, that takes a risk”, “A great film because of its artistic and narrative features,” says sensecritique.com. The magazine Famille Chrétienne has described it as “an intelligent film that is full of imagination”, but Le Parisien as “a goldmine from the East that must be seen immediately”. My Favorite War has been included in the international movie database IMDB among top animation films of 2020. The film has been appreciated also in Latvia. In 2020, Ilze Burkovska-Jacobsen received the National Cinema Award “Lielais Kristaps” as the Best Animation Director, and the film won the award in the category Best Animated Feature
