Big Fish & Begonia

A young girl named Chun lives in the mystical realm of the “Others” below the ocean, where souls go when they depart from the human world: good people are reborn as whales and bad people return to the underworld as rats. The “Others” also control the tides and the change of seasons. On her 16th birthday, Chun participates in a coming-of-age ritual and allowed to explore the human world in the form of a dolphin. Chun has seven days to observe the laws of nature, without ever coming into direct contact with humans. When she gets tangled in a fishing net, she is saved by a boy at the cost of his own life. Chun cannot and will not accept this, especially because she has fallen in love with the boy. After returning to her realm, she calls upon the soul keeper and strikes a bargain with him: she exchanges half of her lifespan for the boy’s soul. From now on, she is responsible for the young man’s soul, which is now transferred into a fish – she names him Kun – until he is old enough to make his own journey back home. The lives of the two are now intertwined to the point that whatever happens to Kun also befalls Chun. Aided by her childhood friend Qui, Chun does her best to protect the fish. But the merging of the two worlds has unforeseen consequences that threaten the very existence of Chun’s world.
“Big Fish & Begonia” is one of the most successful Chinese animation films, drawing on ancient Chinese fables and sagas as a source. This stunning anime was hand-drawn with a passion for detail and inspired by the storytelling and images of Ghibli films. It celebrated its European premiere in Stuttgart in 2017 and was screened at the festivals in Annecy, London and Brussels, among others. (dm)