Accompanying film programme

Czech animation has recently produced some noteworthy music videos. One of them is an artistically stylized playful music video for the song Moje volba by the famous group of handicapped musicians The Tap Tap. The rhythmical song is accompanied by an entertaining visual in which various universes cross at the path of a hero sent by his father to find “his place in the sun.”

One of the themes of this year’s Anifilm is the extensive and progressive Spanish animation. This broad subject simply couldn’t be omitted from our programme for children. Anifilm therefore presents two mixed showcases composed of two successful Spanish animated series for children. One of them is the charming classical claymation “Capelito.” This series, depicting the stories of a forest mushroom, was successfully screened in Třeboň in the past. Internationally popular and award-winning “Capelito” was created in the Spanish studios Estudio Rodolfo Pastor, which have been focusing on stop-motion animation since 1980. The second series – “Pocoyo” – will be screened in its Slovak version. This animated fairy-tale about a small jokester is made with 3D animation and is popular among children of many countries.

Pocoyo I: Drum Roll Please
Capelito: Tackle
Pocoyo I: Swept Away
Capelito: Invisible
Pocoyo I: Who's on the Phone?
Pocoyo I: Pocoyo Dance
Capelito: Potter
Pocoyo I: A Present for Elly

Famous and popular handymen Pat and Mat, who have secured a place in the hearts of several generations, celebrate their 40th birthday this year. And Pat and Mat: The Film is their gift.
The pilot episode of a series called “Tinkers” was made in 1976. It was directed by the talented director Lubomir Beneš who collaborated with Vladimir Jiranek, a graphic artist with a unique style. Clumsy handymen who, much to their satisfaction, always come up with an impossible solution to a problem, were later named Pat and Mat and the series was named “…and that’s it!” Its short slapstick-like episodes are characteristic with their original humour, exaggeration and irony, so Pat and Mat became instant favourites of children and parents alike. Furthermore, this series is an example of excellent and precise puppet animation. In the course of time, many filmmakers collaborated on this series, for example Vlasta Pospišilova, the first lady of Czech animation.
This time, Pat and Mat take on a vicious cactus, a dried up tree and decide to “upgrade” their home with original improvements. And since we are in the 21st century and everyone promotes a healthy lifestyle, our handymen will try to get in shape on a stationary bicycle.

The programme starts out with a short film by Segundo de Chomón, the illustrious pioneer who worked in Spain, France and Italy. His short The Gold Spider is one of the most admirable pieces in his filmography with some stunning animation sequences for the time. Some vintage promotional spots using nitrate film were collected for this event, such as Radio RCA (ca. 1935) by Enrique Ferrán, created in Barcelona during the Second Spanish Republic. A few ads by the prolific Mr. Serra i Massana and other satirical artists whose names are unknown, La bronca (The Scolding) and Cambo i l’autonomia (Cambó and the Self-government, ca. 1918), were also restored. These films demonstrate the strength of on-screen graphic humour. K-Hito (En los pasillos del congreso, 1932) and Josep Escobar (El fakir Gonzalez) were both writers and directors. During this period, political, social comics were all the rage. Later, Javier Mariscal (Chico & Rita) and Calpurnio Pison, two other popular contemporary cartoonists, started making animated films based on the trademark characters Los Garriris and Cuttlas.

L’Araignée d’or | The Gold Spider, Segundo de Chomón, 1908, 8 min 40 sec

En los pasillos del congreso | The Corridors of Congress, K-Hito (Ricardo García), 1932, 2 min

Alimentos de régimen Santiveri | Santivery Diet Grocery, Josep Serra i Massana, 1932–35, 2 min 11 sec

Tabú, colorete en polvo | Tabú Face Powder, Josep Serra i Massana, 1933, 1 min

Radio RCA, Enrique Ferrán, kolem / circa 1935, 2 min

El fakir González buscador de oro | Fakir Gonzáles, the Gold-digger, Joaquim Muntañola, 1942, 8 min 12 sec

Juanito va de caza | Juanito Goes Hunting, Salvador Mestres, 1942, 8 min

El cascabel de Zapirón | Zapirón’s Cascabel, Josep Escobar, 1943, 8 min

Don Cleque flautista | Flautist Don Cleque, Jaume Baguñà, 1944, 8 min 12 sec

Garabatos: Manolete | Doodle: Manolete, Jaume Baguñà a Manuel Díaz, 1943–44, 8 min

Los tambores de Fu-Aguarrás | Drums of Fu-Aguarrás, Josep Escobar, 1945, 9 min 10 sec

El bueno de Cuttlas | The Good Cuttlas, Calpurnio Pisón, 1991, 8 min 48 sec

Amarillo verano | Yellow Summer, Javier Mariscal, 2013, 4 min 40 sec

This project is intended for alternative promotion of the most talented young animation filmmakers from Central and Eastern Europe. Its aim is to present internationally the 11 best films made by young and debuting artists in a given year to a professional audience and for the general public. The selection of the films focuses on extraordinary talents whose work promises successful future careers. The project counts on the presentation of this compilation at selected European animated film festivals and to draw attention to new talents and bring them together with experienced foreign producers.

Beyond, Hungary, 2015, 10 min.
Composition / Kompozicija, Slovenia, 2015, 4 min.
Cowboyland, Slovakia, 2014, 5 min.
Fences / Płoty, Poland, 2015, 7 min.
Happy End, Czech Republic, 2015, 6 min.
Mosaic, the Waltz of Spleen / Mozaika, walc śledziony, Poland, 2015, 4 min.
Rivers / Rzeki, Poland, 2014, 3 min.
Tale / Mese, Hungary, 2014, 8 min.
The More I Know / Čím víc vím, Czech Republic, 2015, 8 min.
The Noise of Licking / A nyaintás nesze, Hungary, 2015, 9 min.
Wolf Games / Vučje igre, Croatia, 2015, 5 min.

A puppet story about the meaning of family and the things you need to start a new and proper one. Through the eyes of young Tonda, who is hidden in his mommy’s belly for nine months, we experience an adventure full of fantasy and original humour.
Do you also think you’ve seen everything? Think again! This story is told by unborn Tonda who is still in his mommy’s belly. Accompanied by his commentary, we watch his parents fall in love and get married. And so his family, which he cherishes so much, is formed. If we don’t include Toník, the main heroes of the story are his mommy Lucie, a painter, and his daddy Josef, a joiner. But the family also consists of Tonda’s grandparents. One grandma is called Coco (she is the soul of Chanel) and the other one, who modestly calls herself Paganini, plays the violin. One of the grandfathers, Lojza, is a confectioner and the other one, Antonín, a joiner. He has unfortunately passed, but despite that, the house is full of him. That happens sometimes, and not only in fairy-tales! The stories of Toník’s family are full of fantasy and gentle and original humour. In some episodes, we meet the family’s neighbours from the nearby forest – the Hoopoe, the Rabbit and the Owl. But the most important thing is that the members of this big family all love each other and have lots of fun.

How Mommy and Daddy Got Married
How Daddy Forgot to Clean Up after Himself
How They Learned to Save
How Daddy Expected a Baby
How Two Paper Planes Came
How Grandma Coco Revealed Her Secret
How I Was Finally Born

Bon Appétit, Your Lordship, 1996, 3 ep. x 8 min
An animated farce about two cooks, Cat and Mouse, who are cooking for the impatient Dog. This animated series by the distinctive director and graphic artist Václav Mergl is full of ideas that were invented for the script by the director’s wife and collaborator, Pavla Merglová. The series has no dialogue, the story is expressed by means of humorous and lively animation, sounds and illustrative score by composer and pianist Zdeněk Zdeněk.

Mléčná polévka s kapáním / Milk Soup with Drops
Vaječná omeleta s třešněmi / Egg Omelette with Cherries
Vepřové nožičky se zeleninou / Pork Legs with Vegetables

Sádlík and Hryz, 1983, 2 ep. x 8 min
This animated series for small children tells the story of two frolicking friends – a rather greedy wild boar called Sádlík and his squirrel friend Hryz. Together they experience various adventures and face all sorts of peril. Although they are completely different, they can overcome the danger together and will eventually become good friends.

Nenechavá koza / The Thieving Goat
V orlím hnízdě / In the Eagle’s Nest

Apolenka the Doll, 1981, 4 x 8 min
An alarm clock rings in the attic of an old house. Apolenka and her two gnomish friends – clumsy Tinman and lively Bakulín – wake up in the drawers of an old sewing machine. They jump out of their boxes, have breakfast and run out for adventures. One time Apolenka gets lost and her friends have to find her. Another time a startled locomotive takes them to Africa, and another time still a mean snowman causes trouble. Václav Mergl made the stories in Jiří Trnka’s Prague studios after a year of careful preparation and studying fairy-tales and literature for children.

Jak ji nemohli najít / Apolenka is Lost
Splašená lokomotiva / The Startled Locomotive
Zlý sněhulák / The Mean Snowman
Jak šly hodiny podle plotu / How the Clock Went Along the Fence

The film tells the story of an escaped convict named Ramon who takes the Way of St. James to get to a remote village in the mountains where he wants to retrieve loot he hid there years ago. At first glance, it may seem that the abandoned village is inhabited only by a few old people but in the end it turns out that the village has been cursed for over 600 years. Ramon soon figures out that the seemingly harmless elders are in fact looking for souls they could trade with Death himself and that he has jumped out of the frying pan right into the fire. And that is only the beginning of Ramon’s adventures on his quest to retrieve the treasure.

The story is told in a very thrilling way reminiscent of detective stories by Agatha Christie. It also briefly touches on the values and traditions of a culture several hundred years old adhering to the myths and the stories of the millions of pilgrims who have walked the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela since the 11^th century.

The Apostle was nominated for Goya Award in 2013, and has won numerous awards including the audience awards at the Annecy, Cinanima, and Monstra festivals.

The second instalment of the Hotel Transylvania has the enterprising Dracula family go through another set of adventures. Dracula finally gives up his strict rule of accommodating only monsters in his hotel and opens it to human guests. But behind the closed door of his crypt, Dracula is consumed by doubts as to whether his half-human half-vampire grandson Dennis will ever become a vampire. So when Mavis and Johnny go to visit the human half of the family tree – which is also full of surprises – grandpa “Drac” asks his friends Frank, Murray, Wayne and Griffin for help and together they prepare to train Dennis to become a monster. But they have no idea that Drac’s grumpy and very, very, very old-fashioned father Vlad wants to pay his family a visit. So when Vlad finds out that his great-grandson is not a pure-blooded vampire and, on top of all things, humans are allowed to the hotel, all hell breaks loose.
Director Genndy Tartakovsky once again used computer animation to the fullest and animated even the tiniest details, which means we can see the full scale of the characters’ movements and scary, funny, sad and all other sorts of facial expressions. The film’s approachable stylization of the slightly macabre world of “nice” vampires will be appreciated especially by children.

Have you ever wondered why the little, yellow, cute and cuddly Minions willingly serve Gru, a villain with a capital V? You will find the answer to this question right at the beginning of this film, which maps the evolution of the Minions. Just imagine that from time immemorial these do-gooders by nature have seen the sense of their existence in serving the biggest villain in the world. And every time they lost their master through a series of unfortunate events often triggered by the Minions themselves, they immediately started looking for a new one. And this went on for centuries.

“The Slovak version of pop culture” could be a fitting description for the work of the young Slovak artist Jakub Króner. He is the voice of a generation raised by hip-hop and YouTube and fed by incorrect internet humour. His LokalFilmis is the first Slovak animated feature film after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. This exploitation animated ride will take you through the hell of Slovak show business, introduce YouTube freaks to you and orchestrate the third world war between Putin and Obama.

An old gypsy prophecy foretells the coming of a messiah from a Romani settlement, a man who will change the world. Then Rytmaus is born and gradually becomes the most famous rapper in Europe. Rytmaus decides to run for the president of Slovakia. His rival is Pišta Lakatoš. Thanks to exporting drinking water, Slovakia becomes a world superpower and is now, along with the biggest players such as the USA, Russia or the EU, deciding the fate of humankind. But Moloch the Devil also wants to have a say in the future of our planet.

This visually captivating and artistically unique Slovak series Mimi and Lisa is one of the most successful projects of modern Slovak animation. Its authors focus on a confrontation of two worlds: of the seeing and of the blind. In a sensitive way, they try to explain to children that the world can be seen and perceived through various senses and that tolerance is important in life. The heroines of the series are two girls – blind Mimi and her friend Lisa. Together, they go on trips which often blend with the world of their fantasy. The series is unique in its innovative direction by famous Slovak director Katarína Kerekes which goes hand in hand with the demanding animation technique used during production. Children can therefore have an immense artistic and emotional experience. The festival selection includes the first seven episodes.

There’s No Need to Be Afraid of the Dark
Where Did the Shadow Go?
Memory Game Aunts
Agent Vitamin
Farewell, Grey Colour
The Invisible Fish
Christmas

The most watched, magnificent, entertaining, funny, educational and topical television show not only on this planet but in the whole universe – a pirate television broadcast by Czech Television’s ingenious director I.M. Blackandwhite – finally hits the big screen!
BLACKANDWHITE – a unique, instantly iconic animated audio-visual phenomenon that throughout 2015 pirated Czech Television and crucially improved its pathologically outdated colour broadcast. What came first – black or white? What can a flea contortionist do? How exactly do you turn on a mountain time machine? When you poke Laurel, does Hardy scream and vice versa? And perhaps also Bugs Bunny will come (but probably not.) Suitable for children, intellectuals and parents of children and intellectuals. Thank you for your attention.