Donkey Princess – SLASH Filmfestival

Princess Diana, whose chambers are home to a cute donkey, is bored with court ceremony and her outrageously patriarchal father’s intrusive protectionism. One day, she meets young commoner Lalo and falls in love. When the king, who outlawed love throughout the kingdom after his wife’s death, gets wind of their romance, he banishes the young man. Before he leaves, he gives Diana a magical bracelet said to grant wishes across space and time. When the princess uses it, she suddenly lands in present-day Chile. Directing duo Léon & Cociña conjures enchantingly handmade (fairy-tale) worlds through a beguiling blend of animation and live action. Extraordinary! (Markus Keuschnigg)

Watch trailer

Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña

are a Chilean filmmaking and stop-motion-animation duo who have been collaborating since 2007. Their work explores profound themes such as religion, sexuality, and death through a raw cinematic language, using papier-mâché figures and naïve drawings to address dark subject matter. This approach has spawned, among other films, the multiple award-winning The Wolf House (2018), and their eerily grotesque The Hyperboreans (SLASH 2024). Much of their latest feature film, Donkey Princess, was made in the working exhibition space at the Matucana 100 Cultural Center in Santiago, Chile, where the sets were open to the public as part of an exhibition. Its world premiere was held at the 2026 Locarno Film Festival.

To the full programme

Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña

Similar films

The Fox

Ghost in the Cell

Hallowarrior