Miscellaneous Animated film about a young pioneer of modern paleontology
The British woman Mary Anning is considered one of the first female palaeontologists. Animated filmmaker Marcel Barelli has dedicated his first feature film to her. In this interview, he explains what his film "Mary Anning, Fossil Hunter" has to do with his own children.
27.11.2025, 10:30
SDA
The animated film "Mary Anning" takes its viewers back to the year 1811. The eponymous heroine is 12 years old. She is searching for fossils on the south coast of England - and finds the skeleton of a fish dinosaur (Ichthyosaurus). This and other finds were to lay the foundation for modern paleontology.
For the young Mary Anning, collecting fossils was less a hobby and more a way of supporting her family after the early death of her father. He, a cabinetmaker, had awakened her passion for fossils.
Historical facts and fiction
The animated film, which is based on historical facts, follows Anning through the twelfth year of her life. It shows a headstrong girl whose actions go against the conventions of the time.
Marcel Barelli, the director of the film, has also "always" had a passion for fossils and dinosaurs, he told the Keystone-SDA news agency in an interview. "If you've been a palaeontology fan from an early age, you know the figure of Mary Anning, because she's mentioned in every book about fossils and dinosaurs."
Outside of these circles, however, Anning is hardly known. Barelli wanted to "tell the story of a little-known personality whose characteristics still mean something to us today and whose story is powerful".
"Mary Anning" is Barelli's first feature film; he described all of his previous short films as documentaries. "It was important that what I was telling was true," he said. That's why the director also researched the story of the British palaeontologist for his feature film, had his information verified and at the same time took fictional liberties. "But most of the characters in the film really existed," he said.
Barelli was born in Ticino in 1985 and has lived in Geneva for twenty years. In his short films, such as "Habitat" (2016), "Lucens" (2015) and "Vigia" (2013), he dealt with ecological sustainability and explored the relationship between humans, animals and nature. For "Dans la nature" (2021), he received the Swiss Film Award for Best Animated Film in 2022. And "Mary Anning" won the Locarno Kids Award 2025 at the last Locarno Film Festival.
Children's film for adults too
The film is aimed at a young audience from the age of six, despite difficult themes such as the death of a father or bullying at school. "The story has been adapted so that it becomes a kind of treasure hunt," said Barelli. Unfortunately, however, children's cinema is "never considered on the same level as films for adults". But the advantage of children's films is "that they can appeal to everyone, adults and children alike."
Barelli modeled the two main characters on his own children and their characters are the same: Mary, a little grumpy, resembles the director's 13-year-old daughter, while little Henry, who Mary has to look after reluctantly at first, is very curious and speaks like Barelli's ten-year-old son.
Another peculiarity of the film is the soundtrack. The punk rock by Shyle Zalewski emphasizes the aspect that the young Mary Annig violates the social norms of her time at the beginning of the 19th century. "Not everyone likes that," Barelli admitted. "I was well aware that the music divides opinion." But the director "didn't want historical music from the outset, but something that would translate Mary's counter-cultural character".
For the first time not drawn by himself
Furthermore, this is the first time Barelli has not drawn his characters himself: "As I find my style a little too cartoony and naive, I wanted something more reminiscent of children's books," he said. That's why he entrusted the graphics to his girlfriend, director Marjolaine Perreten. In his opinion, "her rounder universe", which is reminiscent of watercolors, fits the story better.
"Mary Anning, Fossil Hunter" celebrated its world premiere last June at the International Animation Film Festival in Annecy. The film was subsequently shown at around ten festivals in Switzerland and abroad and opens in Swiss cinemas this Thursday.
