Robots Don't Cry

ROBOTS DON'T CRY

Animation Feature in development

SYNOPSIS

OSKAR EDER, 11 years old, spends every free minute at the retirement home where his single father BARTHEL EDER works as the head nurse, in a constant battle to tame the chaos produced by staff shortages. The whimsical and interesting old people – especially ex ski jumper Mrs. WIDUMIR and violist LADY CHARLOTTE – are Oskar’s friends, a surrogate family he does not want to lose. So, when his father threatens to quit his job, he becomes extremely worried.

Instead of hiring more nurses, the head of the home orders a care robot. Oskar is fascinated by the young programmer NOLA SEKANDOWSKI (15) and her robot DALIBERTOBERT.

Head nurse Barthel Eder, however, is concerned that the robot will make his job even more difficult and refuses to cooperate with Nola. She urgently needs Oskar to open the doors and hearts of the senior residents. Together, the two youngsters program some amusing apps to meet the desires of the seniors until the director of the home, MRS. KOLLERHOFER-HOLLERKOGLER, reminds Nola that until the next board meeting, the robot must prove its worth, that is, saving money for the home.

Since Nola has to rescue her family’s business, she now trains the robot solely to rationalize and recycle, ignoring the needs of the elderly.

Oskar is deeply disappointed that Nola is interacting with his friends so disrespectfully. He hacks into the board meeting and instead of a glossy video about successful robot implementation, the board members see how Dalibertobert dries used diapers and prepares spit-out food scraps to prepare new meals. But the board members are thrilled about the unconventional methods, which ultimately increase their profits and dividends and they order yet another robot.

Head nurse Eder can’t stand it any longer. He quits. Desperate, Oskar hacks the robots to keep them out of his father’s way. Unfortunately, due to his hacker attack, the robots distribute the wrong medication and Oskar’s special friend, Mrs. Widumir, ends up in the hospital. What a disaster. The two teenagers, who have become fierce enemies, are banished from the home.

However, they meet by chance at Mrs. Widumir’s sickbed, where they realize that they must bury their grudge and join with the seniors to bring about real change.

CREW

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Tina Leisch

CO-WRITER
Janet Clark

DOP
Fabio Peissl

CONSULTANT
Gerald Kerkletz

2D ANIMATIC
Michael Merkatz

ANIMATION SUPERVISOR
Eni Brandner

SOUND
Christoph Amann

EDITING
Philipp Bittner

COMPOSITION
Jelena Popržan

PRODUCTION MANAGER
Barbara Eppensteiner

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Franziska Teresa Aringer

Production

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Development supported by

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EU flag-Crea EU + MEDIA EN

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.