Mary Anning

Twelve-year-old Mary loves nothing more than searching for fossils on the beach. When her father disappears, she has to push back on social conventions and authorities. Marcel Barelli has set the story of the English palaeontologist in a heartwarming family film.

England in the year 1811: The father of 12-year-old Mary Anning, a passionate fossil collector, disappears, leaving behind a cryptic drawing. To provide for her family and uncover his secret, Mary defies social norms and braves the dangerous cliffs of Dorset. Courageous and curious, she discovers numerous fossils as well as their place in history. The film celebrates the early contributions of real-life palaeontologist Mary Anning (1799 – 1847), while shedding light on gender-based prejudice in science through a historical yet youthful lens.

“Mary Anning” is a eloquent story about science, resilience and a young girl who changed the world. By using a light-hearted contemporary dialogue between a child and her father, the feature film by Swiss animator Marcel Barelli makes historical facts entertaining and easy to understand. The film combines humour with feminist criticism and reveals how important Anning’s fossil discoveries were for palaeontology, even though she was excluded from the scientific canon for a long time because of her gender and social status. (Xenia Nguyen)

Info

Direction Marcel von Barelli
Duration 72'
Country CH/BE, 2025

Appointments & Tickets

Wed 3.9. • 14:15

Cinema Trafo 2 *

Sat 6.9. • 16:15

Orient Cinema *

Sun 7.9. • 12:15

Cinema Trafo 2

6+ 72' D/e

* With an introduction by

Dr. Andrea Oettl (Leiterin Sauriermuseum Frick)

Presenting Partner

Sauriermuseum Frick