In exclusive previews in cinemas across the Czech Republic, the French family animated film Arco, co-produced by Natalie Portman and directed by Ugo Bienvenu, will be available to watch from December 27 to January 4. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prize for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, is nominated for Golden Globes in the Best Animated Film category and for the 38th European Awards in the animation category. Most major film media, such as The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and IndieWire, also predict Arco as one of the favorites for the 98th Academy Awards in 2025 for Best Animated Film.
It is the year 2075. Children are cared for by robots because their parents are so busy with work that they cannot be home, and they appear to their offspring in the form of holograms. Ten-year-old Iris suddenly sees a boy in a rainbow cloak fall from the sky; his name is Arco. A friendship forms between them, a fragile and beautiful connection between two different worlds. The film Arco will be distributed by Zero Gravity on January 22, 2026.
The boy named Arco comes from a future where the world is kinder, where people live in harmony with nature, and relationships are full of love and understanding. People live in houses on pillars among the clouds to relieve the earth. Thanks to special rainbow cloaks with stones, they can fly back in time, but only from the age of twelve. Arco is eleven and secretly borrowed the cloak from his older sister. He fell through time and was then found by Iris. Together with the robot Mikki, who takes care of Iris and her little brother Peter, they embark on an adventurous journey to get Arco back home. "As soon as I saw the first previews of the unfinished film Arco, I felt how touching it is. The director himself describes it as 'memories of the future', which I think is a great concept. Arco is about hope, imagination, and a positive outlook, about seeing a good ending, which is very important today," says co-producer Natalie Portman, who voiced the mother of the main character in the English version. Other producers include Félix de Givry, Ugo Bienvenu, and Sophie Mas. "The time we live in is uncertain and complicated. With the film Arco, I wanted to create the opposite – a story full of hope about a world not of tomorrow, but of the day after tomorrow. A world where it would be nice to live, as a goal we could achieve," says thirty-eight-year-old director Ugo Bienvenu, who is also a co-author of the script. The film features a number of prominent American actors in the English version, such as Mark Ruffalo, Andy Samberg, and America Ferrera.
The idea for the film Arco emerged during COVID, and Ugo wanted to, in his words, "embrace humanity" with a sensitive, emotional story and believe that if we open ourselves to our emotions and humanity, everything will turn out well. "The predictions of sci-fi films from the 70s were not very hopeful, and I somewhat feel that they are coming true. It is therefore up to our generation to make predictions about a beautiful and pleasant future and to depict a more beautiful world in all its breadth – so that it can actually become a reality one day," adds Bienvenu. Arco is his feature animation debut; prior to this, this talented French director focused on creating 2D animations and music videos. He deliberately chose the 2D animation technique for the film Arco because, according to him, it is the only technique capable of "captivating the world and perfectly conveying the truth to the viewer in a way that is not factual but sensitive." He also wanted to provide young viewers with the most comfortable viewing experience and anchor them in a true, tangible reality, so they could immerse themselves in the story without fear or misleading questions. The film is praised by critics for its precise hand-drawn animation, as well as for its emotionally strong and touching adventures that are filled with hope. The Hollywood Reporter highlights Arco's optimistic and inspirational message: "The film Arco aims to inspire action and face despair with the reminder that the most powerful tool young people have in their hands is their own imagination."
The film Arco will be available to watch from December 27 as part of exclusive preview screenings in Prague, Brno, Trutnov, and České Budějovice, and from January 1 to 4, 2026, in selected CineStar and Cinema City multiplexes across the country. Tickets can be purchased at the box offices and websites of the cinemas; a list of all screenings can be found here.
