The Most Precious of Cargoes

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
Animated | France | 2024 | 81 min | French with English Subtitles

Once upon a time, a poor woodcutter and his wife lived in a great forest. Cold, hunger, poverty and a war raging all around them meant their lives were very hard. One day, the woodcutter’s wife rescues a baby. A baby girl thrown from one of the many trains that constantly pass through the forest. This baby, this “most precious of cargoes,” will transform the lives of the poor woodcutter’s wife and her husband, as well as those whose paths the child will cross – including the man who threw her from the train. And some will try to protect her, whatever the cost. Their story will reveal the worst and the best in the hearts of men. This gorgeous, animated fable competed in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and is directed by the Academy Award-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist).

Official Selection

Cannes Film Festival
Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Opening Night
Miami Jewish Film Festival

Nominated for 3 French Oscars

“Offers a poignant way to explore not only the horrors of the Holocaust, but also the kindness that countered it.”
– Variety

“A postmodern fairytale… dreamy and visually arresting.”
– The Guardian