Young Horizons: Once Upon a Time…

In collaboration with the TAURON Young Horizons International Film Festival, we invite you on a journey through extraordinary realms inhabited by fairies, dragons, brave princesses, handsome knights, and powerful sorceresses – worlds where reality intertwines with magic, and where every dream and fantasy can come true. Let yourself be swept away by adventure and enchanted by timeless fairy-tale landscapes.

This section presents six classic stories for young audiences – and for anyone who still cherishes the wonder of childhood tales. The program features film adaptations of beloved fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault. On screen, you will encounter Snow White, Thumbelina, and the Snow Queen, as well as characters from contemporary bestsellers by Julia Donaldson and William Goldman. Our cinematic journey travels across countries, genres, and eras – from silent film and pioneering animation to a playful 1980s genre pastiche. The selection includes both pop culture milestones – such as Disney’s first animated princess and Rob Reiner’s cult classic The Princess Bride – and lesser-known gems, including a striking Finnish adaptation of The Snow Queen and the groundbreaking silhouette animations of Lotte Reiniger. The section also highlights the many ways fairy tales can be told on screen. Some films remain faithful to traditional conventions and their literary sources, while others reinterpret them freely, even subversively, playfully overturning familiar tropes. Once Upon a Time… brings together our love and nostalgia for childhood stories, inviting us to revisit them with fresh eyes – and perhaps a knowing smile.

Will the heroes of these fairy tales live happily ever after? Discover the answer at the cinema.

Section Curators: Agnieszka Sinicka, Hanna Wereszczyńska