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Masters of Puppets – the masters of puppet animation film presented on the big screen at Anim’est
In its 6th edition, the International Animation Film Festival Anim’est pays tribute to the masters of puppet animation films. It does this by means of a large retrospective, showing movies from its early beginnings to the present day. The section “Masters of Puppets” is without precedent in Romania, and brings to Bucharest one of the most famous stop-motion animation films, made with various kinds of puppets and other oddities that have rarely been seen. This extensive retrospective of stop-motion animation is dedicated to puppet masters from all over the world: Ladislas Starevich, Jiří Trnka, Jan Švankmajer, Břetislav Pojar, Kihachiro Kawamoto, Gari Bardin, Riho Unt, Aurel Klimt, Marek Skrobecki and Adam Elliot. The representatives of some of the most important stop-motion animation film studios will be present in Bucharest: Piotr Kardas and Adam Ptak from Se Ma For (Poland), the director Mait Laas from NukuFilm (Estonia), and Frantisek Vara from Animation People (Czech Republic).
This event-section of Anim’est 2011 contains four features and six short screening sessions. The unique screening of the first feature by Ladislas Starevich (co-directed by her daughter, Irene) and only the third sound animation with puppets in world cinema’s history, The Tale of the Fox / Le roman de Renard (France 1937) will take place on Sunday, the 9th October, at 6:30 p.m. in Cinema Patria. An adaptation of the famous fable of La Fontaine, it stars the Fox and the Lion. In the animal kingdom the Fox tricks everyone, who then complain to King Lion King. In order to hear the Fox defend himself, he orders the Fox to be arrested and brought before him.
The three animated short blocks contain classics, three of which are dedicated to contemporary artists. Titles that will be shown include The Song of The Prairie (d. Jiří Trnka, Czechoslovakia, 1949), the BAFTA-winner of the Best Animation Film in 1955; The Hand (d. Jiří Trnka, Czechoslovakia, 1965), nominated for the same award in 1969; Larghetto (d. Wacław Kondek, Poland, 1967), part of the Short Competition at the Cannes Film festival in 1967; the Oscar winner of the Best Animated Short in 1974, Closed Mondays (d. Will Vinton, Bob Gardiner, USA, 1974) and Darkness Light Darkness (Czechoslovakia, 1990), made by the well known Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, winner of a Special Mention in the Competition of the Berlin Film Festival in 1990.
Fans of Mary and Max (d. Adam Elliot, Australia, 2009), the opening film of Anim’est 2009 will surely be glad to know that, in the Masters of Puppets section, they can watch the award-winning short Harvey Krumpet (d. Adam Elliot, Australia, 2003), winner of the 2004 Oscar for Best Animated Short, the Public’s Awards, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Special Prize of the Jury of the Animation Film Festival from Annecy in 2003 and of a Special Mention in the Short Competition of the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. Other major animators presented in the Masters of Puppets section are Anna Solanas and Gerlando Infuso, both members of the jury of Anim’est 2011. Anna presents her own shorts screening session (made with Marc Riba) The Twin Girls of Sunset Street (r. Anna Solanas, Marc Riba, Spain, 2010), Best Movie of the Shadow Shorts Competition at the Transilvania International Film Festival in 2010. Gerlando will attend the screening of Milovan Circus (Belgium, 2008) , presented in Annecy or Anima Bruxelles.
Three feature documentaries will enable the Anim'est public to learn more about key personalities in the history of film animation. Thus, Saturday October 8, starting at 4:30pm Dresorul de insecte / The Bug Trainer (r. Donatas Ulvydas, Linas Augutis, Marek Skrobecki, Rasa Miskinyte, Polonia–Lituania, 2008) will be screened at Patria Cinema. This film is coproduced by Se-ma-for, the Guest Studio at the sixth edition of Anim'est. For the first time, the story of the life and work of puppet animation film pioneer Ladislas Starevich is told in this film, using reconstruction, archive images, and testimonies offered by prominent contemporary artists and film critics worldwide. Those who will not be able to attend the first festival weekend will have another chance to watch it on Sunday October 16, 4:00pm at Union Cinema - a day after the official closing of the festival. This cinema will run the major silent short films of the animator, accompanied live by Vlasov's Best Friend Slovenian quartet.
Scheduled Monday October 10, 3:00pm at ArCuB Hall respectively Sunday, October 16, 7:00pm, same venue, is Epoca de aur a filmului ceh de animaţie cu păpuşi / Golden Age of Czech Puppet Animation (r. Miroslav Kačor, Cehia, 2008), a documentary about puppet animation films made in Czechoslovakia between 1945 and 1989. It presents a behind the scenes look of one the most prestigious and most prolific animation schools in Europe, which created Jiří Trnka, Jiri Barta and Jan Svankmajer.
Regii timpului / Kings of the Time (r. Mait Laas, Estonia, 2008) is a documentary about the "parents" of Estonian animated film, Elbert Tuganov and Heino Pars.These two animators and artists have have become masters of their field despite changing times and highly tumultuous destinies, making dozens of animated films and creating a national animation cinema which today is among the most active in Europe. Anim'est’s public will be able to watch it on Thursday October 13, 6:00pm at Union Cinema, as well as on Sunday, October 16, 3:00pm at ArCuB Hall.
Images from films screened during the Masters of Puppets / Maeștri Păpușari section can be watched in a video made by the Video Content Anim'est team, which can be found here: http://animest.ro/video.aspx.
Masters of Puppets screenings are held with the support of the Czech Centre, the Polish Institute, and UKRANIMAFILM. Sections’ partner is Staro Pramen.
Images from films screened during the Mozaic section can also be watched in a video made by the Video Content Anim'est team, accessible through: http://animest.ro/video.aspx