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Story

The film begins in East Berlin in the autumn of 1989. The father of a Finnish family visiting the crumbling Berlin Wall rescues a cute puppy, Stormheart, and takes him back to Finland as a pet for his daughters. No one in the family knows anything about the dog, not even its breed.

7-year-old Pearl takes the puppy under her wing, comforting Stormheart, the poor little orphan. His mum and dad are not really dead, they have just turned into stars in the sky. Pearl grabs Stormheart's paw and waves at the star-lit sky, whispering: ”Good night Granny, good night Chippy the hamster, good night Stormhearts's mum and dad. Good night all dead animals of the world.”

To Stormheart's parents, Pearl writes a consoling letter. They need not be worried anymore, for Stormheart has a new mum now, Pearl.

Pearl's father finds her letter and answers it in secret, in the name of Stormheart's mother and father. To her surprise, Pearl finds on her bedside table a letter from ”Daria and Daniel” who are happy that Stormheart has a good home. Pearl begins an intense correspondence with Daria and Daniel with the latest news about their son, Stormheart.

In the care of the tender-hearted family, trained only by little Pearl, Stormheart grows up with no rules or boundaries. The cute little fur ball swells into a tank-like bundle of muscles and, quite unnoticed, his huge arsenal of instincts bursts into full bloom. As the year passes, the clumsy little baby dog develops into a fighting machine equipped with the sense of duty of a guardian angel.

Little by little , the mystery of Stormheart reveals itself to the family. Stormheart is a Caucasian Shepherd, and his parents had served as guard dogs at the Berlin Wall. After the collapse of the Wall, 7,000 wall-guarding dogs were put down and their puppies were given away to anyone. Berlin was free, but the remaining Caucasian Shepherds carried in their genes the bloody history of their parents.

”Stormheart”, based on real life events, is a film about the history of this ancient canine breed. In the 20th century Europe, it was the fate of this protector of humans and guard of homes to become a part of the political machinery. Its inborn abilities were refocused against human beings.

”Stormheart” is ”A great animal story” and it is meant for schoolchildren and their families and for all those who love animals.