GUEST STUDIO: SE-MA-FOR (POLAND)

Se-ma-for is the most known and the oldest Polish studio of animated films.

Its beginning date back to 1947 when in his private apartment in Lodz a visual artist Zenon Wasilewski (1903-1966), along with a group of friends - animation enthusiasts, completed the first ever Polish puppet animation film entitled Za króla Krakusa (In Times of Krakus King).

Since then there have been 1400 films created in Se-ma-for (including 800 puppets animations), which won hundreds of awards and distinctions with two Oscars®- for Zbigniew Rybczyński’s Tango in 1983 and in 2008 for Piotruś i wilk (Peter and the Wolf) by Suzie Templeton.

State-owned Se-Ma-For was first and foremost known as the one and only puppet animation company in Poland. Not only famous children series were created by means of this technique, but it was even used for actor films and documentaries. Famous Polish feature film directors such as Roman Polański, Janusz Majewski, Filip Bajon, Krzysztof Krauze, Andrzej Barański, Wojciech Marczewski, Andrzej Kondratiuk, Janusz Morgenstern debuted here.

When, in November 1999 a decision to close  State Film Studio Se-Ma-For was taken, nobody expected it would trigger not only opening of Se-Ma-For Film Production, but also Se-Ma-For Film Foundation and Se-Ma-For Museum of Fairytale as well as MuBa Cinema and international Se-ma-for Film Festival.

A group of enthusiasts lead by Zbigniew Żmudzki took the risk and decided to continue the tradition of creating puppet animations. On December 20, 1999 they officially registered a trade company under that same name. This new film studio remained faithful to its tradition and is still creating film works with the use of very laborious and extremely difficult method namely- the technique of stop motion animation.

Selection made by Piotr Kardas (programme director, Se-ma-for film festival) and presented by Piotr Kardas and Adam Ptak (producer and vice-president of Se-ma-for)