11-year-old Tony has a unique ability - he is glowing since birth. His parents try to keep him at home to protect him from the outside world but one day he meets Shelly, a mysterious girl who moves into one of the neighboring apartments before the Christmas holidays. Tony finds his first real friend in her and someone to whom he can can reveal fantasy world in inside his pillow bunker. Shelly in turn, shows Tony a miraculous flashlight with which she can create amazing images and magical worlds from ordinary things that only they can see. Together they set for the search of the origin of mysterious wisps of darkness that drain the sunlight from their house.
It is inspired by Pošivač's animated short film Shining Tony.[6] Film's woking title was Tony, Shelly and Genius.[7][8] The film was produced by Czech company nuprodukce and Slovak company nutprodukcia. It was coproduced by Czech Television, Radio and Television of Slovakia, Kouzelná animace and Hungarian company Filmfabriq.[9] The film was supported by Czech film fund.[3]
The film premiered at 2023 Zlín Film Festival. Exposition showing production of the film was part of the festival.[10][9] The first trailer was released on 10 August 2023.[11] It is set to enter Czech theatres on 2 November 2023.[12] Slovak premiere is set for 7 December 2023.[13] On 20 September 2023 the final trailer was released.[14]
Reception
In 2018 it has won the Eurimages Co-production Development Award at Cinekid and received €20,000. Jury praised "high artistic quality based on traditional European values combined with a modern cinematographic language."[7] The film has won the jury prize in the Contrechamps category award at Annecy International Animation Film Festival.[15]
