Chicken for Linda!

"When we're dead, are we in the dark?"

Apologies are best served in the form of a good meal... And for mischievous 8-year-old Linda that means a chicken with peppers, a dish that reminds her of her late father who was a great cook. Her mother Paulette, however, is no Gordon Ramsay, and favours ready-made meals to heat up in the microwave. When Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter, she wants to do anything to make it up to her, including cooking Linda's chicken dinner. But in a strike-stricken city, a nod to France's political climate, that plan might prove to be more complicated than she thought. Linda's simple request quickly leads to a zany adventure, including frantic chases, rather clumsy police interventions, and musical interludes.

Husband-and-wife team Sébastien Laudenbach and Chiara Malta weaves a tender, small-scale tale, firmly grounded in everyday reality. The story might be akin to older French vérité cinema, but the film visually unfolds through hand-drawn animations, painting a Fauvist-inspired dreamscape where characters are assigned one colour that is informed by their personality. Vibrant and unapologetically energetic, Yellow Linda embodies boundless enthusiasm, wanting to make the most of every situation. Orange Paulette meanwhile grapples with finding a balance between mourning and moving forward as a single parent. Laudenbach, acclaimed for his previous and stylistically similar feature The Girl Without Hands, brings his signature visual flair, providing the film with minimalist but dynamic character designs. Crowned with the prestigious Cristal Award for Best Feature Film at Annecy, Chicken for Linda! is an expressionistic and chaotic rollercoaster for the whole family. It shows the joyous whirlwind of childhood, the wonderous embrace of a mother-daughter bond and how one can find a renewed zest for life.