My Life As A Courgette
(Ma vie de Courgette)

New Zealand-based animator Antony Elworthy worked alongside Claude Barras on My Life as a Courgette, and will reunite next year with Claude on his next stop-motion project. Ant generously joins us as our guest at this screening — we’re thrilled to host him.

Utterly charming, meticulously animated and full of heart, My Life as a Courgette, is an expressive visual marvel, brilliantly walking the line between tenderness and truth — balancing realism with hope.

An expressive feature about kids finding strength through solidarity, My Life as a Courgette is a beautiful and affecting French-Swiss stop-motion masterpiece directed by Claude Barras from a screenplay by Girlhood writer-director Céline Sciamma. Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Feature, My Life as a Courgette won a bunch of awards on the festival circuit including Annecy, the European Film Awards and the French Cesars. A touching examination of both the hard knocks and deep joys of childhood, and a heartfelt acknowledgement that not all childhoods play out with ease, My Life as a Courgette tackles sometimes heavy subject matter with a light touch, conveying the perseverance of kids in complicated life circumstances, through abandonment and new friendships — all through the matter-of-fact lens of childhood.  

‘Courgette’ may sound like a weird name, but after the accidental death of his mother, this nickname is all nine-year-old Icare has left of his Mum. Sent to live in a foster home, Courgette settles in amongst the chaos of his newly-upended life, finding himself part of a tight-knit and makeshift family, with big-hearted adults to finally watch over him. After slowly finding his way with an eccentric kid-gang, Courgette is quick to welcome the confident, sparky new girl Camille into the fold. So, when Camille’s truly awful aunt tries to take her away, Courgette and his new pals must find a way to stick together, come what may.