Home / About / Archives / 2021 / 2021 Programme / 2021 Index

Son of the White Mare – Annecy Classics

  1. Overview
  2. Description
  3. Fact Sheet

Rediscover this avant-garde masterpiece by Marcell Jankovics!

With Annecy Classics, the Festival pays tribute to timeless shorts and features to remind us of the great moments in the history of animation. It highlights avant-garde techniques, the journey of brilliant directors, and celebrates key events. Take a break and rediscover the great animated classics!

Follow Fehérlófia, the son of the white mare, in his quest to save 3 princesses held captive in the Underworld by ferocious dragons.

Inspired by popular Hungarian fables by László Arany, Son of the White Mare holds a special place in the history of animation film. An abstract version of fables, both in its visual representation and storytelling, a radical example of the ornamental style, the film produces a dreamlike visual world, which is created by constantly metamorphosing colours and recurring images of lightening, sparks and mandalas. Most notably, the work was selected at the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival in the list of the 50 greatest animated films of all time.

A must-see psychedelic journey!

Also, Tamasa Distribution will soon be releasing the film in theatres and on video in France.


Marcell Jankovics has just left us at the age of 79. In this documentary from the Hungarian National Film Archives, he is talking about Son of the White Mare.


The film

  • Film identity

    Original title: Son of the White Mare

    Directed by: Marcell JANKOVICS

    Country: Hungary

    Year of production: 1981

    Running time: 01 h 25 min 40 s

  • Technique

    Category: Feature film

    Techniques used: drawing on cels

    Version: Original version with English subtitles

    Process: Colour

    Target public: All audiences

  • Credits

    Directed by: Marcell JANKOVICS

    Production: PANNONIA FILM STUDIO

    Distribution: TAMASA DISTRIBUTION

    Script: László György, Marcell Jankovics

    Graphics: Marcell Jankovics, Zsolt Richly, László Hegedűs

    Camera: Zoltán Bacsó

    Music: István Vajda

    Voice: György Cserhalmi, Vera Pap, Mari Szemes, Gyula Szabó