Lectures and Presentations

In the 1930s, Czechoslovakia became a temporary refuge for several animated commercial directors who were forced to leave neighbouring Germany after the Nazis’ rise to power in 1933. One of them was Hungarian György Pál (later famous by the name George Pal), another one was German Georg Fridrich (known in Czechoslovakia as Jiří Fridrich) and the third was Hungarian producer Desider Gross. During their short stay, they made several noteworthy commercials for Czechoslovak distribution, such as This Way or Highway (1933), Winner (1934) and Shoe (1937).

Several things automatically come to mind when mentioning Hermína Týrlová – the variety of materials she animated in front of the camera, Zlín and child viewers. But what concrete means of expression did she use throughout her career? Which themes and partial motifs was she interested in and how did she tell her stories? Understand the language of a film personality who greatly exceeded Czech cultural context. The presentation is based on materials used in the prepared publication about Hermína Týrlová, which will be published at the beginning of June 2016.

Our jury member Javier Mariscal, graphic artist and the co-director of the Academy Award-nominated Cuban-rhythmed film Chico & Rita, will talk about his work on this unique film and screen a making-of documentary. But it is not a common making-of as it has Javier Mariscal’s particular and graphic vision throughout. While the participants watch the film, Javier shares the inspirational and creative process of every detail of the movie. He will explain the meticulous work of documentation that was carried out to recreate, in the best way as possible, Cuba’s reality of the time: its balconies, shapes, facades, colours, music, dances and tastes. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Javier Mariscal.

This presentation will introduce a broad spectrum of graphic solutions for TV shows on CT1, CT2, CT24, CT art and CT:D. 2D animation and 3D graphics, conditions for finding adequate graphic design. The presentation will include screenings of individual projects with a commentary shedding light on their creation.

What does television look like without a television set and can it appeal to those of you who are not used to switching channels but scrolling? Czech Television’s interactive projects which go beyond the boundaries of the screen and use non-traditional methods of content distribution. How was the YouTube campaign for StarDance created and what possibilities does CT bod offer to its users?

The conference will concentrate in an overview of 100 years of Spanish animation made thanks to the project “From Doodles to Pixels, over a hundred years of Spanish animation,” a project of investigation, revision and recovery of the least known Spanish animated films, the most experimental and independent and the historical pieces that even though popular in their heyday, were sleeping in oblivion. As curator of this project, I have tried to encourage a generational dialogue where the older works have taken on a new meaning together with the new ones and where all of them can be contextualized to understand this animation story in parallel with others such as the political, industrial, cultural and social. The selection includes films from a wide range of techniques and concepts and are representative of a great talent in the agitated years that run from the early 20th century to the present day.

Václav Mergl is a filmmaker who earned the title director-thinker (which is, by definition, absurd). It is a testimony to his artistic exceptionality. His considerable advantage is that he is a graduate of the Academy of Art, Architecture and Design in Prague, which means that he is not limited by taught methods of directing but rather liberated by artistic imagery. His films Metamorphoses (Proměny, 1964), Laokoon (1970), Crabs (Krabi, 1976) and Homunculus (Homunkulus, 1984) truly created an impression of exceptionality as they didn’t work with the effects of figurative elements and artistic stylization of real space-time of micro- and macrocosms, but processed matter in some kind of inner rhythm thus emphasizing its creative but also destructive ability. Mergl opens a surprising primal “alchemy” code of being, making his work defiant even to the conceptual context of surrealism. It is necessary to perceive his work in all dimensions of being as a tree that Mergl, lover of bonsais, made a conceptual spiritual basis of his films.

Lichožrouti / The Odd-Sock Eaters, speakers: Galina Miklínová, Petr Horák (CZ)
Tonda, Slávka a génius / Tonda, Slávka and the Genius, speakers: Filip Pošivač, Barbora Valecká, Jana Šrámková (CZ)
Morten, speaker: Kaspar Jancis (Estonia)
White Plastic Sky, speakers: Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó (Hungary)

This presentation block is dedicated to Paul Fierlinger, an important American animator of Czech origin. Fierlinger was born into a diplomat family in Japan and raised in surrogate families in the USA during the war in order to later become a student of the Poděbrady boarding school in Czechoslovakia. His classmates included, for example, Miloš Forman and Václav Havel. Fierlinger had started drawing caricatures in the 1950s and later shifted his focus towards animated films which he also chose for his profession. In 1967 he emigrated to the USA and became one of the most prolific independent animators. His significant works include hundreds of short scenes for the cult TV show “Sesame Street” and his artistic films such as Drawn from Memory and Still Life with Animated Dogs. Apart from several Oscar nominations, Paul Fierlinger won many awards. The presentation, accompanied by screenings, builds upon a monograph and an extensive interview with Fierlinger by the lecturers.

Bits and pieces from the history but primarily the current work of the Czech Television animation studio. What does the studio do and how has the production of animated works changed since its beginnings? What are the differences between the processing of animation production from prepared materials and the digital paperless version? This presentation should include previews, illustrations and mainly a discussion with people participating in the production of the Czech Television Animation studio.

The State Cinematography Fund has obtained a government subsidy of 350 million CZK to support Czech cinematography. The Fund’s board, responsible for its allocation, has prepared a new long-term plan for handling the money. Board members Petr Vítek and Jiří Kubíček will talk about the Board’s priorities regarding animated film and introduce the whole grant system, its operation and possibilities of obtaining grants for production, distribution and propagation of animated films.
Petr Vítek and Jiří Kubíček sit on the Board; Petr Vítek has been its chairman since 2012. Kateřina Vojkůvková is responsible for the cinematography support grant system. Helena Bezděk Fraňková is a director of the State Cinematography Fund and Pavla Janoušková Kubečková is a producer

Bretislav Pojar had many friends in Canada: producer Rock Demers, animators Co Hoedeman and Francine Desbiens, just to name a few. Pojar was influential in the development of the “Tales for All” series of children’s and family films produced by Demers. He directed some short films for the National Film Board of Canada (the best-known being Balablok, 1972, and “E”, 1981) and participated in the “Rights from the Hearts” series in the 1990s. Pojar met many young Canadian animators and worked with them. If Co Hoedeman developed his own personal style of puppet animation after studying in Prague, we can see a clear link between Pojar’s cut-out animation and Francine Desbiens’. Both of them also give importance to social and political issues. This conference will highlight Pojar’s influence on some Canadian animators.

Follow one Czech animator’s voyage through the FX and animation industry with a look behind the walls of one of the world’s oldest and most recognized visual effects and animation studios, Industrial Light & Magic. This presentation will be an eclectic collection of pictures, clips, stories, techniques and behind-the-scenes footage that will take on a somewhat autobiographical structure. We’ll start by looking at some of the early years of this animator’s journey and his emergence into the animation industry with the help of a short film. From there we will take a deeper look at the culture and some of the techniques of the animation department at Industrial Light & Magic. This might include a look at how the animators at the studio approach a shot and what a typical day at ILM might look like. From there we will follow the journey of two characters, (a green beast named Hulk and a sassy robot named Ultron) from concept to final image in a behind-the-scenes look at Marvel’s most recent Avengers film. We’ll explore how these characters were developed, learned to walk and talk along with all the other challenges it took to bring them to life. We will then look at the industry as a whole and discuss the direction that it is going in, some of the challenges it is experiencing, and some of the opportunities that lie within. Some personal reflections and anecdotes might be sprinkled in to keep things interesting.

How can you make a movie, and tell a story, when the audience has the camera? As smartphones become more and more powerful, and advances in hardware make Virtual Reality technology affordable, filmmakers are again experimenting with putting the audience inside the story. When your smartphone is not a small flat screen but a window to a virtual world you can carry a boundless theatre in your pocket. The VR headset puts the viewer in a place where the conventions of film storytelling no longer work. For the film maker and story teller this is a world of enticing possibilities and interesting problems. A few brave souls have explored this new territory and some have lived to tell the tale. The presentation will include live interactive demonstrations of Google Spotlight Stories, selected from recently published titles as well as earlier work (Windy Day, Buggy Night, Duet, Special Delivery, On Ice, and maybe more).

The goal of this seminar is to acquaint the professional public with the ways of using animation in TV shows of CT:D since its beginnings. It will focus on the use of animation for younger and older children, various kinds of animation concepts in individual shows and the assessment of its effects.

Charles IV wasn’t just a ruler taking up a pose, as the children know him from their history books, but also a man made from flesh and blood with a remarkable life story. Our concept, building upon classical drawings, elements of traditional animation, slow narration and also game action, aims to awaken interest in Charles the man and the high middle ages atmosphere that Charles IV embodies in our eyes.