A modern Freudian fairy tale about a girl, her father, a prince, and a dragon.
A note from the filmmaker:
I had a tumultuous if not disastrous first marriage to a Russian. The relationship covered quite a bit of ground - from Moscow to Riga, from Novorossiysk to Kaliningrad to Tallinn etc. At one point, in a fit of exasperated intuition (that is the state when some women discover they can put an evil eye on someone and poison babies from a far distance), I sat down and wrote a fairy tale. Not exactly about our marriage, but YES, about a marriage to a dragon. And the supposed princess is no lady, she’s able to spit fire and poke holes in living folks. Just like me. Years later I submitted the tale to a film grant committee in Latvia who approved it. When the film was ready, it went to Zagreb International Animated Film festival, and I witnessed the Croatians falling out of chairs laughing while watching TINY SHOES. The same happened at the Minsk International Women Film Festival (where the film received Grand Prix). Then I went to Sweden. The audiences were dead silent. After the screening I wanted to find out why such a cold reception. A woman proudly explained to me that they don’t have those kinds of husbands in Sweden. Well, that was a lesson on a cultural gap right there! Very soon though, I was able to check out what Swedish husbands are like. I learned one or two things, yes. I still don't understand the speed of a husband turning into an ex. Do you think it has something to do with a lady spitting a fire and poking holes in living folks?
