Work in Progress

Deep underneath the sea surface, followed by a fish orchestra, the voice of the ocean is telling a story about a fish king and his daughter, the Little one. With his family he abandoned the looted waters and, as well as many others, he went to live among humans. In a darkened fish shop in the middle of a port district full of immigrants, they now
live a tough life. One day, a confident, handsome young man enters the fish shop, and the Little one is utterly enchanted by the man.

Director, designer, illustrator and screenwriter. Jan Balej has earned several awards for his work both home and internationally. In 1990, he founded the Hafan film Prague studio together with the cameraman Miloslav Špála. The studio focuses on animated production, especially puppet movies. Currently he’s working on a feature film The Little Fishgirl and a short film Muži v louži (literally: Men in a puddle).

Záboj a Mlhoš travel through the times of the Hussite wars and influence the most important events of the era. But not always in accordance with the standard interpretation of the history... The pair are something like the Czech Forrest Gump: they somehow manage to involuntarily walk into the most significant historical events. However, Mlhoš and Záboj are not merely witnessing the life-changing events; they are participating in them.

Finished his studies of film and TV graphics at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague in 1983 with his cartoon film Visit Prague. He focuses on animated film and likes to mix cartoon animation with animation of real objects. He has made a number of authorial films, TV blackouts, jingles, adverts and so on, and has worked on several combined audiovisual projects. He teaches animation at FAMU in Prague since 1993.

An ordinary trip to the Prague Castle will lead Čtyřlístek to an extraordinary meeting: they are attacked by a lion in the Golden Lane and he then takes them through the underground tunnels all the way to the burial chamber of Czech kings. And who is waiting for them there? The Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, Rudolf II . himself. He has travelled from the past into the present with his faithful lion Aurix, because his renowned imperial astronomers have foreseen that only Čtyřlístek can help him get the miraculous philosopher‘s stone.

Michal Žabka studied animation at the Film school of Zlín and at the Film and TV Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts FA MU in Prague, where he directed short films Baballoon (1997) and Premammals (2001). He is involved with both free and commissioned work. His film Mrs. G (2007) has won several awards. He is currently working as a director and designer on a new series of bedtime stories for Czech TV.