Retrospective Spotlight: Dédé (Ancestor) & Son of the White Mare

Presented by Sea Slug Animation Festival 

Delve into the Ivory Coast’s feminine cosmology through DÉDÉ (ANCESTOR) before flying off into the psychedelic folklore of SON OF THE WHITE MARE—one of the greatest animated films of all time, now restored in 4K from the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements.

One of the great psychedelic masterpieces of world animation, Son of the White Mare is a swirling, color-mad maelstrom of mythic monsters and Scythian heroes, part-Nibelungenlied, part-Yellow Submarine, lit by jagged bolts of lightning and drenched in rivers of blue, red, gold and green.

A massive cosmic oak stands at the gates of the Underworld, holding seventy-seven dragons in its roots; to combat these monsters, a dazzling white mare goddess gives birth to three heroes—Treeshaker and his brothers—who embark on an epic journey to save the universe.

Directed by Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics (famed for his 1974 Oscar-nominated short Sisyphus), Son of the White Mare has been restored in 4K using the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements by Arbelos in collaboration with the Hungarian National Film Institute – Film Archive.