‘Donkey Princess’ Trailer Unveiled Ahead of Locarno Main Competition, Film Festival Says

A trailer for “Donkey Princess,” a new fantasy film from Chilean directors Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, was released as the project prepares for its festival premiere in the main competition at the Locarno Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, described as following a young royal who travels through different worlds and film genres while searching for love, is positioned by its creators as more than a straight genre entry. León and Cociña said the movie is “their way of reimagining the history of fantasy cinema,” framing the project around how fantasy has been staged and interpreted across film traditions.

León and Cociña are longtime collaborators who are associated with the filmmaking circles of director Ari Aster, The Hollywood Reporter reported, and the new feature marks their third outing as a team. While the trailer announcement focuses on the film’s genre-mixing structure and narrative premise, it also emphasizes the directors’ intent to revisit fantasy cinema as a set of forms, references, and techniques rather than a single, fixed style.

The Hollywood Reporter characterized the announcement as an “exclusive trailer” release tied to the film’s appearance at Locarno, a major European festival known for bringing international titles into the spotlight through premiere screenings and competitive sections.

Locarno’s main competition placement puts “Donkey Princess” among the set of films selected for the festival’s top program, a step that typically increases visibility with international buyers, critics, and distributors as the festival approaches. The trailer rollout is expected to be part of that broader release and promotion cycle.

For audiences, the material preview indicates a film that leans into movement across settings and stylistic registers, with the narrative tied to the idea of a royal figure entering and passing between multiple “worlds” while the film’s genre references shift along the way.

The Hollywood Reporter’s report did not provide additional cast details or distribution plans in the excerpted information, and no other publicly corroborating sources were identified in the available background research. The next concrete developments for the project are expected to be tied to its Locarno premiere schedule and any follow-on announcements from the festival or the film’s representatives.