My Lucky Elephant

Oliver Twist

October 1919 •Hungarian

The Rag Man

February 1925 •

Tim Kelly is an orphan who runs away after his orphanage burns down. Presumed to be killed in the fire, he is able to roam the streets of New York freely. He meets Max Ginsberg, an old Jewish junk dealer with rheumatism, and the two strike a partnership and a close friendship.

The Green Years

July 1946 •English

An orphaned young boy is guided by his great-grandfather and strives to go to university to become a doctor. However, the boy's harsh grandfather stands in his way.

A Private Scandal

June 1921 •English

A French orphan girl is adopted into the home of wealthy Americans. There she becomes romantically involved with a farm worker and at the same time entangled in the deteriorating marriage of the American couple who rescued her.

Sunny and the Elephant

December 2008 •French

The story of a young city boy wanting to become the mahout, the elephant driver. Despite his master's belief that only karen tribe people are born to be mahouts, the lad finally wins his heart and becomes a real mahout.

Orphans' Benefit

August 1941 •English

Mickey and friends put on a revue for the orphans. Donald recites nursery rhymes, but the orphans torment him. Horace, Goofy, and Clarabelle do a dance number. Donald tries again. Clara clucks a song while Mickey plays piano (with support from an unseen orchestra). Donald returns, and the orphans finally send a parade of bricks and eggs on balloons over him and use slingshots to drop them on his head.

Flight of the Doves

April 1971 •English

While fleeing across the Irish countryside, two orphans are pursued by their villainous uncle, a master of disguises.

Askari

December 2001 •English

Set on a game reserve in Africa. Askari is an angry old elephant, the only survivor of the "A' family group which has been anhilitated in a government cull and he has turned rogue. Involved in the culling are Patrick Khumalo, a corrupt government official and Ribshaw, an unscrupulous white poacher accompanied by Ndhlovu, an old African tracker who is being blackmailed by Ribshaw. Anxious to save the elephants are game warden Joss Mckinley and his conservationist wife Paula who is studying and monitoring various family groups of elephants. When Paula's sixteen year old niece Emma Crawshay is orphaned she is sent to live with her aunt and uncle at Morena Game Park. She feels alienated but is gradually drawn into her aunt's passion for her work and her favourite elephant family the 'O' group, in particular a calf named Ollie.

The Kid with a Bike

May 2011 •French

Abandoned by his father, a young boy is left in the hands of an unqualified childcare provider.

Twelve Months

March 1980 •Japanese

A young queen requests a bouquet of snowdrop flowers for New Year's Day in exchange for a reward. One greedy woman sends her stepdaughter, whom she does not like, to look for the flowers in a cold forest, knowing the task will be impossible for her. The girl almost freezes to death in the forest, but she is rescued by the spirits of the Twelve Months, who create spring around her. The girl is able to deliver the bouquet to the queen, but others want a share of the reward.

Subaidha

January 1965 •Malayalam

Ahmed marry Subaida. On the way back home, Ahmed meets an accident and becomes unconscious.

The Foster Boy

November 2011 •German

Switzerland, 1955. The young orphan Max is sent as a foster child and contracted to work for the Bösiger family who lives on a farm. His foster parents treat him like a workhorse while their son seizes every opportunity to humiliate him. Playing the accordion is the one thing that is entirely his. But when the new teacher stands up for Max, it only makes a bad situation much worse. The only thing preserving his will to survive is his friendship with Berteli, who was also taken on to work at the farm. Max dreams of Argentina with her: a fantasy world, where allegedly even hayforks are made of silver.

Confessions of a Superhero

November 2022 •English

Orphaned child Samar works at a restaurant named after his widower boss, Jason–his new paternal figure who mentors his part-time secret vigilante life as Zeitgeist, an anonymous therapist for the people of Maddenville.

Moonrise Kingdom

May 2012 •English

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.

Gangs Inc.

June 1941 •English

Circumstances force naive Rita Adams into serving an unjust prison term, but she emerges from it a cynical criminal who rises to power in the local crime organization.

Time of the Wolf

May 2002 •English

A boy is orphaned and his only surviving relatives, an ageing aunt and uncle, somewhat reluctantly, take him in. The aunt, still traumatised by the death by drowning, years earlier, of her own two sons, has little idea how to handle the boy. As if, losing his parents and not really feeling welcome in his new home, were not enough, the boy is bullied at school. He seeks sanctuary from all of his troubles in the open air, in the company of wolves and particularly in the presence of a young wolf whose life he has saved.

Kensuke's Kingdom

February 2024 •English

A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.

July Rising

March 2019 •English

When sixteen-year old Andy inherits her grandfather's orchard and becomes the ward of her aunt from the city, she must navigate the path to her future from a small town where choice and agency have never been options for young women.

Life is Beautiful When You Are in Love

January 1971 •Turkish

Turkish Pollyanna's story. After the death of her parents, Ayşe moves to the town to live with her aunt. Unlike Ayşe, her aunt Handan is distant and cold toward people. She does not treat Ayşe any differently. Ayşe, on the other hand, quickly becomes a beloved figure due to her warm-hearted nature. She helps people find solutions to their problems. She brings the entire town together to assist orphaned children. During this time, she gets into an accident. Instead of fighting for her treatment, she becomes disheartened. This time, the entire town will rally to support Ayşe in her struggle.

Zarafa

January 2012 •French

Inspired by the true story of the first giraffe to visit France, Zarafa is a sumptuously animated and stirring adventure, and a throwback to a bygone era of hand-drawn animation and epic storytelling set among sweeping CinemaScope vistas of parched desert, wind-swept mountains and open skies. Under the cover of darkness a small boy, Maki, loosens the shackles that bind him and escapes into the desert night. Pursued by slavers across the moon-lit savannah, Maki meets Zarafa, a baby giraffe – and an orphan, just like him – as well as the nomad Hassan, Prince of the Desert. Hassan takes them to Alexandria for an audience with the Pasha of Egypt, who orders him to deliver the exotic animal as a gift to King Charles of France.