“You know, when I was a boy, I fell in love with the Virgin Mary.”
In the small Bavarian town of Altötting, a mother takes her young son to visit a nearby chapel. The boy becomes entranced by the Shrine of the Virgin Mary inside the chapel and begins daily pilgrimages to see his beloved Madonna. His love, devotion, and passion for her continue to grow, until one day his world is crushed by the devastating secret behind her eternal beauty. Mesmerizing, haunting, and deeply personal, Altötting is a coming-of-age story about love, faith, mortality, and shattered illusions. In this poignant and philosophical animated short, acclaimed filmmaker Andreas Hykade (We Lived in Grass, Ring of Fire, The Runt, Love and Theft) interweaves scenes of quiet, spacious minimalism with flourishes of opulent beauty to create a timeless story of lost innocence.
Script, Director, Narrator: Andreas Hykade
Design: Andreas Hykade, Regina Pessoa
Assistant Director: Orion Schweitl
Animation: Elena Walf, Andreas Hykade, Anselm Pyta, Orion Schweitl
Music: Daniel Scott
Soloist: Bernard Richter
Sound Design: Olivier Calvert
Artistic Director and Painting Supervision: Regina Pessoa
Painting: Regina Pessoa, Alexandre Barga, André Marques, Sara Naves
Technical Directors: Ralf Bohde, Pierre Plouffe, Eric Pouliot
Production Manager: Bianca Just
Funding: MFG Baden-Württemberg, Filmförderanstalt Berlin, Instituto do Cinema e Audiovisual, Ministério da Cultura
Producers: Thomas Meyer-Hermann, Marc Bertrand, Abi Feijo
Co-Production: Studio FILM BILDER, National Film Board of Canada, Ciclope Filmes