LONG WAY NORTH

This little-seen French animated feature presents female empowerment as an adventure, focusing on one budding explorer in her journey towards independence. Set in 19th-century Saint Petersburg, young Sacha flees the Russian aristocracy to model her life after her explorer grandfather and the Arctic expedition from which he has yet to return. Director Rémi Chayé (assisstant director on the Oscar-nominated animated film THE SECRET OF KELLS) boldly uses clearly-defined colors, shapes and shadows for hand-drawn realism, giving the film an intricate construction-paper look.