In creating such a world I was inspired by the films Where the Wild Things Art (2009) and Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), and the documentary The Children of Leningradsky (2005). They share a common denominator: children. Or rather: children vs. the world. Difficult and ostensibly unattractive conditions combine with a backdrop of the elements and nature to produce very interesting visuals and moving narratives.

I have always been inspired by and attracted to the aesthetics of Fellini’s films, with their dream-like, baroque style. His visual approach to a frame, play of light, diffused shades of colour. Reflecting on my adaptation of King Matt, I had seen the world depicted in a Felliniesque spirit, and this determined the nature of the set design, which was addressed primarily to a mature, rather than very young audience. A film about a child does not have to be childish. What I really wanted to achieve was to express the perception of a child, children’s associations, sense of time, childlike logic.