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Many generations of Czech (and previously Czechoslovak) children grew up reading the popular comic book The Lucky Four (Čtyřlístek). The adventures of the four animal friends began in 1969 and they have been published continuously ever since. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary Michal Žabka made a feature anthology film in 2019. In it, our heroes sit by a campfire and recount the adventures they had during the last year. Each of them tells the story they find the best, whether it was a climb to the Devil’s Thumb, the search for a vicious werewolf, a fantastic voyage into space or a Christmas visit of little imps. Renowned director Michal Žabka has already made a feature adaptation of this comic book – Lucky Four Serving the King was his 2013 feature debut, but this time, he is more consistent in adhering to the comic’s original style so the film seems more authentic to the audiences who know the original.

With the festival’s relocation to Liberec, Anifilm decided that each year, it will present the work of an artist who was born in Liberec. This year, we screen a selection of works by director and graphic artist Michal Žabka. He studied at the Vocational Film College in Zlín and at FAMU. Even in his student films Baballon and Premammals, he proved to be an original graphic artist, a quirky narrator of unusual stories and an excellent puppet animator. In 2016, he finished Břetislav Pojar’s puppet project Christmas Ballad. We will also screen his puppet film Mrs. G and his sequence from the feature project Car Fairy Tales titled The Accountant and the Fairy. In his short and feature films (as well as television series and various commissions) Žabka likes to test various animation techniques. He’s been shifting his focus gradually toward young audiences. His television work is represented in our selection by an episode from the series Annie and Joey based on the popular comic series of the same name by Lucie Lomová.

Baballon
Czech Republic, 1999, 5 min

The Premammals
Czech Republic, 2001, 10 min

Mrs. G
Czech Republic, 2007, 13 min

Car Fairy Tales: The Accountant and the Fairy
Czech Republic, 2011, 20 min

Click!
Czech Republic, 2014, 1 min

Christmas Ballad
Czech Republic, 2016, 12 min

Annie and Joey: Scandal in the Town
Czech Republic, 2017, 13 min