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CZECH ANIMATION

Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic represent a level of their own within the history of animation. It is with great pleasure we present classics from the period 1946-1998 by Jiří Trnka, Břetislav Pojar, Jiří Barta, Jan Švankmajer, Michaela Pavlátová and Aurel Klimt. The films are presented in three parts on Friday and Saturday.

A huge amount of animation in the world top level was produced in Czechoslovakia during the period 1945-1990. They were mainly created in two studios in Prague, both founded by the renaissance personality Jiří Trnka along with colleagues. Studio bratri v triku was established in 1945 and had by 2005 produced more than 1,600 films in various styles, genres and lengths. In 1947 Studio for puppet film was established. Trnkas puppet films were world famous, and Czech animated film, especially cartoons for children, became major export goods. Trnka himself did not animate, but collaborated with technically highly skilled people like Břetislav Pojar. Pojars own films were characterized by lyrical or satirical qualities, often in a nondescript area between children and adults - before he went to Canada and continued his career at the National Film Board of Canada. Jan Švankmajer spearheaded a renaissance of puppet films in the 1980s and 1990s; technically innovative and with surrealism in the spinal cord, he is the one that really has burned his name into the general history of film.

Czech animation has a tradition of wrapping combustible political content in a safe packaging, and is generally characterized by humanism and wise humor - sometimes lyrical, sometimes close to satire. Sadly, irony has proved itself as an insidious partner throughout history. During the communist period, there was no freedom, and artists had to struggle with censorship and work with political and social commissions, but state aid gave safe financing. When such freedom finally came in 1989, the flow of money from the government disappeared, and the whole industry was severely affected by financial problems. Once proud studios took their toll on this and were transformed or went out of business, while Czech animation disappeared from the television screens. Jiří Barta, often referred to as Trnkas heir, was one of those hardest hit by the downturn, experiencing a 15 year drought in the middle of his career. But since then, new masters have emerged, such as Aurel Klimt - working with different techniques, a.o. pixelation - and Michaela Pavlátová - who is an illustrator and make cartoons, making us see the outlines of a new era.


Supported by The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Oslo.

Print Sources: Krátký Film, Filmový archiv.
Primary text sources: G. Bendazzi (2016): Animation a World History I-III;
Krátký Film - www.kratkyfilm.eu



 

Fredag 21:00 Tsjekkisk animasjon 1: 1946-1965
Friday 21:00 Czech Animation 1: 1946-1965

(Total: 86 min.)

CSK 1946 | Ani. | 13 min.
Director: Jiří Trnka, Jiří Brdečka

THE SPRINGER AND THE SS MEN
(Pérák a SS)

Den første animasjonsfilm for voksne av Jiří Trnka. En humoristisk historie om en legendarisk feier som ved hjelp av gamle lenestol-fjærer terroriserer tyske SS-soldater i Praha under andre verdenskrig.

The first animated picture Jiří Trnka made for adults. A comic story of a legendary chimney-cleaner who, with the help of a spring from an old lounge-chair, became the terror of the Prague occupation SS troops in World War II.

Script: Jiří Brdečka, Jiří Trnka, Ota Šafránek, Eduard Hofman (story) | Music: Jan Rychlík | Art Direction: Jiří Trnka

Production: Krátký Film - Studio Bratři v triku

CSK 1962 | Ani. | 8 min.
Director: Jiří Trnka

THE PASSION (Vášen)

En historie om lidenskap for høy hastighet som viser at en slik lidenskap, lidenskap for hva som  helst, er selvødeleggende hvis den ikke er under kontroll.

A story about passion for high speed shows that such passion, passion for anything, if not controlled, is self-destructing and even suicidal.

Script: Jiří Trnka | Editing: Hana Walachová

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK 1965 | Ani. | 18 min.
Director: Jiří Trnka

THE HAND (Ruka)

Trnkas siste film, en dyster og melankolsk allegori som gjenspeiler det strikte miljøet mange kunstnere måtte arbeide i, handler om konflikten mellom en mektig Hånd og den maktesløse Harlequin. Etter okkupasjonen i 1968 ble filmen forbudt.

Trnka’s final film, a somber and melancholy allegory that reflects a restrictive environment in which many artists had to work, features a conflict between a powerful Hand and powerless Harlequin. The film was banned after the occupation in 1968.

Script: Jiří Trnka | Camera: Jiří Šafář | Editing: Hana Walachová | Music: Václav Trojan

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK 1953 | Ani. | 19 min.
Director: Břetislav Pojar

ONE GLASS TOO MANY
(O skleničku víc)

Břetislav Pojar brukte Trnkas dukker og skapte en historie basert på et slagord som advarer oss mot promillekjøring. Fortellingen kombinerer lyriske øyeblikk med høy dramatikk, og demonstrerer kunstens sosiale formål i 50-årene - å advare og oppdra.

Břetislav Pojar, using Trnka’s puppets, created a short story from a slogan warning us that driving and alcohol just don’t go together. The story combines lyrical moments with high drama, and shows the social purposes of the films created in 50s - to warn and teach.

Script: Břetislav Pojar | Camera: Ludvík Hájek, Emanuel Franek | Editing: Helena Lebdušková | Puppets: Jiří Trnka | Music: Jan Rychlík, Milivoj Uzelac

Production: Loutkový Film

CSK 1959 | Ani. | 17 min.
Director: Břetislav Pojar

THE LION AND THE SONG
(Lev a písnička)

En animert lignelse om kunstens varige verdi og det gode i mennesket. Med uttrykksfulle dukker utvikler Pojar et poetisk drama om en følsom harlekin som spiller musikk for alle dyrene i en oase. Inntil løven dukker opp.

An animated parable about the indestructibility of art, and also the goodness in a man. Using expressive puppets, Pojar develops a poetic drama about a fragile harlequin playing music to all the animals in a desert oasis. Until the lion shows up.

Script: Břetislav Pojar | Camera: Vladimír Malík | Puppets: Zdeněk Seydl | Music: Wiliam Bukový

Production: Kreslený a loutkový Film

CSK 1962 | Ani. | 11 min.
Director: Břetislav Pojar

THE OPENING SPEECH WILL BE DELIVERED BY
(Úvodni slovo pronese)

Pojars satire over en mann som lar seg fortrylle av sin egen kunnskap og stemme mens han forbereder seg til å holde en betydningsløs tale. Innholdet er ikke alltid så viktig.

Pojar’s satire is mocking speechmakers using any public event only to listen to the sound of their own voices while delivering long speeches without really saying anything.

Script: Miloš Macourek | Camera: Vladimír Malík | Editing: Helena Lebdušková | Music: Wiliam Bukový

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

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Lørdag 11:00 Tsjekkisk animasjon 2: 1966-1999
Saturday 11:00 Czech Animation 2: 1966-1999

(Total: 83 min.)

CSK 1966 | Ani. | 12 min.
Director: Břetislav Pojar, Miroslav Štěpánek

HOW THEY ATE THE SOUP OF WIT
(Jak jedli vtipnou kaši)

Den fjerde episoden av serien "Hei, la oss leke", hvor heltene er to bjørner - en lur og den andre naiv. Dette er første gang den lille bjørnen lykkes i å lure den store. Generasjoner av tsjekkere har stilt seg spørsmålet: Er disse filmene for barn eller voksne?

The fourth episode of the series ‘Hey, Mister, let's play’, in which the heroes are two bears - one foxy and the other naive. For the first time the small bear will succeed in outsmarting the big one. Generations of Czechs have been asking: Are these films for children or adults?

Script: Břetislav Pojar | Camera: Vladimír Malík | Editing: Helena Lebdušková | Music: Wiliam Bukový

Production: F a.s. - Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK, ITA 1973 | Ani. | 14 min.
Director: Břetislav Pojar

THE APPLE MAIDEN
(Jabloňová panna)

Basert på et eventyr om en prins, en vakker, forhekset prinsesse og en ond heks. Pojars subtile humor og Miroslav Štěpáneks gotisk stiliserte figurer skaper en fin helhet.

Based on the romantic story of an enchanted apple maiden set free from the spell of a bad witch by big and true love. Along with Pojar’s sense of humour, the picture is particular for in its design to follow the medieval style created by Miroslav Štěpánek.

Script: Břetislav Pojar | Camera: Vladimír Malík | Editing: Jitka Kavalierová | Music: Jiří Kolafa, Vieri Tosatti | Puppets: Miroslav Štěpánek

Production: Krátký Film – Loutkový film, Corona Cinematografica Italy

CSK 1981 | Ani. | 6 min.
Director: Jiří Barta

THE DESIGN (Projekt)

En kritikk av ensformigheten i datidens boligpolitikk og arkitektur. Hva skjer med ulike folk med ulike liv når de flytter inn en av mange like leiligheter i den nye betongblokken?

A film criticising the overdone uniformity and dehumanisation of some architectural designs. What happens to different people with different lives when they move into one of many similar apartments in the new concrete block?

Script, Design: Jiří Barta | Camera: Miloslav Špála | Editing: Helena Lebdoušková | Music: Petr Skoumal

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK 1982 | Ani. | 17 min.
Director: Jiří Barta

THE LOST WORLD OF GLOVES
(Zaniklý svět rukavic)

Her makter Bartas hanske-skuespillere mesterstykket å parafrasere syv ulike filmsjangre på femten minutter. Med sin tidstypiske form og fantasi er filmen representativ for post-Trnka perioden i tsjekkisk dukkefilm.

In a suggestive sequence of scenes, the glove-actors of Barta manage to paraphrase seven film genres in fifteen minutes. The film with its state-of-the-art form and fantasy is a representative of the post-Trnka period of the Czech puppet pictures.

Script, Design: Jiří Barta | Camera: Vladimír Malík, Michael Gahút | Editing: Helena Lebdoušková | Music: Petr Skoumal

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK 1989 | Ani. | 5 min.
Director: Michaela Pavlátová

THE CROSSWORDS
(Křížovka)

En komedie om kjærlighet - kjærlighet mellom en mann og en kvinne, og litt mellom en mann og hans kryssord. Til og med hennes kjærlighetserklæring hjelper ham å finne det siste ordet av kryssordet!

A humorous film, an animated short story full of dynamic gags, tells us a story of a man who spends all his free time doing crosswords. In the end even love proposals from his wife do not lead him to a night full of love but to a solution of the last word missing in the crossword puzzle: LOVE.

Music: Zuzana Navarová, Vít Sázavský

Production: Studio bratři v triku

CSK 1991 | Ani. | 8 min.
Director: Michaela Pavlátová

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS
(Řeči, řeči, řeči)

I en kafé sitter folk og prater om ulike ting med et animert ‘språk’ av kunstferdige symboler og bilder. Så begynner disse symbolene og bildene begynner å interagere med hverandre. Man trenger ikke ord for å vise hvordan man kommuniserer.

In a cafe, various characters sit at tables, chatting about different things via an animated ‘language’ of artistic symbols and pictures. The symbols and pictures interact, and tell in an easily understandable and amusing way about people who, at first sight, are only chatting in a cafe.

Script: Michaela Pavlátová | Camera: Jaroslava Zimová | Editing: Gaia Vítková | Music: Zuzana Navarová, Vít Sázavský

Production: Studio bratři v triku

CZE 1997 | Ani. | 5 min.
Director: Aurel Klimt

AN EASTERN - BLOODY HUGO
(Eastern - Krvavý Hugo)

Når den fryktede skurken Blodtørstige Hugo rømmer fra fengselet, er ingen trygge. Ikke de gamle, og ikke uskyldige jomfruer. En av disse vil imidlertid vise seg å være en felle. Animasjonsteknikken i denne korte komedien er pikselering.

When the dreaded criminal Bloodthirsty Hugo escapes from a prison cell, nobody is safe. Not elderly people, nor innocent maidens. One of these will however turn to be a trap. The film animation technique of pixilation was used in this short comedy.

Script, Editing: Aurel Klimt | Camera: Jakub Šimůnek | Music: Miloš Vacek

Production: Studio FAMU, Česká televize

CZE 1998 | Ani. | 6 min.
Director: Aurel Klimt

THE FALL (Pád)

En bisarr dukke-komedie basert på surrealisten Daniil Kharms fortelling som foregår i Moskvas gater. Det absurde i forholdet mellom liv og død er de viktigste hovedpersonene.

A bizarre puppet comedy film based on the surrealist Daniil Kharms story takes place in the streets of Moscow. The absurdity of life and death are the main protagonists.

Script: Aurel Klimt (story: Daniil Kharms) | Camera: Zdeněk Pospíšil | Editing: Aurel Klimt | Music: Petr Komár Soudek

Production: Studio FAMU, Česká televize, Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

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Lørdag 21:00 Tsjekkisk animasjon 3: Švankmajer
Saturday 21:00 Czech Animation 3: Švankmajer

(Total: 92 min.)

CSK 1965 | Ani.Fic. | 9 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

J. S. BACH: FANTASY IN G MINOR
(J S Bach: Fantasia g-moll)

Svart/hvit-fantasier i g-moll. Her er det musikken som følger animasjonen - symmetriske former kombinert med disharmoni, bevegelige masser, plutselige klipp sammen med intens musikk.

Black and white imaginations in G minor. Here it is the music which is followed by animations - protruding symmetric shapes combined with dissonance, moving masses, sudden transitions along with intense music.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Svatopluk Malý | Editing: Milada Sádková

Production: Krátký Film, Zdeněk Novák

CSK 1967 | Ani. | 9 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

HISTORIA NATURAE, SUITA
(Historia Naturae, Suita)

En dyster og urovekkende kommentar til menneskets behandling av andre levende vesener. Teknisk beslektet med Walerian Borowczyk i sin surrealistiske parade av gamle trykk og litografier.

A bleak and disturbing comment on human’s treatment of other living creatures. Technically akin to Walerian Borowczyk in its surreal parade of old prints and lithographs.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Zdeněk Šibrava | Editing: Milada Sádková | Music: Zdeněk Liška

Production: Krátký Film, Antonín Vaněk

CSK 1968 | Ani.Fic. | 13 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

THE FLAT (Byt)

En mann er fanget i en skummel leilighet hvor ingenting ser ut til å adlyde naturlovene.

A man is trapped in a creepy apartment where nothing seems to obey the laws of nature.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Svatopluk Malý | Editing: Hana Walachová | Music: Zdeněk Liška

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Vaněk, Erna Kmínková

CSK 1969 | Ani.Fic. | 19 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

A QUIET WEEK IN THE HOUSE (Tichý týden v domě)

En mann som øyensynlig er på rømmen søker ly i et falleferdig hus. Hver dag borer han et hull i veggen og ser inn i et av rommene. I denne filmen veves ikke animasjon og live action sammen slik Švankmajer bruker å gjøre, men blir satt i kontrast til hverandre.

A man, apparently on the run, seeks shelter in a crumbling house. Every day he drills a hole in the wall and looks into one of the rooms. In this film, animation and live action are not interweaved in the ordinary, Švankmajer way, but set in contrast to each other.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Svatopluk Malý, Karel Suzan | Editing: Helena Lebdušková

Production: Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Vaněk, Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK 1982 | Ani. | 11 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

DIMENSIONS OF DIALOGUE
(Možnosti dialogu)

En tredelt kommentar til våre skrøpelige muligheter til å kommunisere: Evig samtale - Arcimboldo-lignende hoder hakkes i stykker; Lidenskapelig diskurs - en mann og en kvinne oppløses i hverandre; Omfattende drøftelse - to eldre hoder ekstruderer og fletter sammen ulike objekter. Švankmajer brukte teknikker som montasje, kollasj, objekt-animasjon og menneskelige aktører animert gjennom modellering.

A three part comment on our bleak possibilites for communication: Eternal conversation -Arcimboldo-like heads minced into pieces; Passionate discourse - a man and woman dissolve into one another; Exhaustive discussion - two elderly heads extrude and intertwine various objects. Švankmajer used the techniques of assemblage, collage, object animation and human actors animated through modeling.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Vladimír Malík | Editing: Helena Lebdušková | Music: Jan Klusák

Production: Krátký Film - Klára Stoklasová, Jiří Trnka Studio

CSK 1983 | Ani.Fic. | 15 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

DOWN TO THE CELLAR
(Do pivnice)

Når en liten jente går ned i kjelleren for å hente poteter, er det sin egen frykt hun finner. Denne filmen er en visjon av skrekken fra vår egen barndom, av hva et barn kan forestille seg i mørket.

When a little girl goes to get potatoes from the cellar, she finds her fears instead. This film is a vision of our own childhood fears, of what a child can create out of the darkness.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Juraj Galvánek | Music: Ivo Špajl

Production: Slovenská filmová tvorba, Eduard Galbavý

CSK 1989 | Ani. | 7 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

DARKNESS-LIGHT-DARKNESS
(Tma, světlo, tma)

En mann fyller et tomt rom med kroppen, sansene, sin eksistens. Men hans eksistens er skrøpelig og kortvarig, og slik han kom fra mørket, går han inn i mørket. Filmen er bemerkelsesverdig både for sin utmerkede animasjon av leire og dagligdagse objekter, og den filosofiske tilnærmingen til spørsmålet om menneskets tilværelse.

A man fills an empty room with his body, senses, his existence. But his existence is fragile and temporary and as he came from the darkness he leaves for the darkness. The film is remarkable for both its excellent animation of clay and real objects and the philosophical attitude to the question of human life.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Miloslav Špála | Editing: Věra Benešová

Production: Krátký Film - Jiří Trnka Studio

GBR, BRD, CSK 1990 | Ani. | 9 min.
Director: Jan Švankmajer

THE DEATH OF STALINISM IN BOHEMIA
(Konec stalinismu v Čechách)

Stalins byste ligger åpent på et operasjonsbord, hvilket setter i gang en animert sekvens som viser Tsjekkias historie fra 1948, da den ble overtatt av kommunistene, til 1989, da fløyelsrevolusjonen fant sted. Švankmajer viser at forandringer ikke vil skje uavhengig av tidligere tider.

Stalin's bust is opened on an operating table, and this leads into an animated sequence depicting Czech history from 1948, when it was taken over by Communists, to 1989, when the Velvet Revolution took place. Švankmajer shows that the transformation will not happen without the influence of the past times.

Script: Jan Švankmajer | Camera: Svatopluk Malý | Editing: Marie Zemanová

Production: BBC - Jaromir Kallista, Nomad Films

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