Sundance: Willem Dafoe and Helena Zengel star in a gorgeously crafted debut about a girl trying to reunite a mythical forest creature with its family.

Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel star in Isaiah Saxon's Sundance premiere about a young girl who encounters a fascinating new species.

The Ochi exist. Furry monkey-like creatures of an orange-hued pelt with pronounced ears and huge dark eyes, the Ochi could feel just at home in the “Star Wars” universe, James Cameron’s “Avatar” realm Pandora or in Amblin classics like the “Gremlins” series.

A child befriending a creature everyone else thinks is too dangerous to befriend is the backbone of many memorable coming-of-age stories, from Free Willy and The Black Stallion to E.T. and How to Train Your Dragon. It’s the ultimate fantasy for young people: just getting a strange, misunderstood, unique creature in a way no one else can.