Tips for Wednesday

Gloria Victoria
12.30 // Varšava Cinema

Battlefield scenes have fascinated artists since long before the invention of animated film. They are the subject of many paintings, sometimes realistic, sometimes romantic, and sometimes expressive. The arrival of animation meant these painted battles could be brought to life. The artistic process, however, can be a battle in itself, and battles are, after all, part of our everyday lives as well. As part of our Fine–Art–Animation programme, we are screening a block of short films that reflect all this titled Gloria Victoria. The film by director and graphic artist Theodore Ushev of the same name is a breathtaking thematisation of the relationship between art and war.

Strings
20.00 // Pavilion I

Strings is a pivotal film for this year’s festival theme. This ambitious and unique work by Danish director Anders Rønnow Klarlund tells a mythical story using marionettes. Although the puppets talk, their facial expressions are limited to eye movement. But this seeming technical limitation didn’t prevent the authors from building a very believable world full of elaborate sceneries or from narrating a dramatic story about an age-old animosity between the Zerites and the kingdom of Hebalon. The film’s fantastic and fairy-tale style underscore the tragic timelessness of similar conflicts and one can all too easily find parallels with our world in its story.

Pitching: Czech Horizon Grant Supported by the PPF Foundation
12.00 // Grandhotel Zlatý Lev

The aim of the Czech Horizon Grant supported by the PPF Foundation is to support the creation of professional Czech short animated films. The grant amounts to CZK 1,000,000 in total. The second year of this pitching event takes place at Anifilm today. The selection committee picked 8 projects to compete for the grant: Chemodan (dir. by Marek Náprstek), Dagon (dir. by Prokop Wilhelm), To Work by Bike (dir. by Marek Náprstek), The Mermaid’s Effect (dir. by Markéta Magidová), Happy Epi (dir. by Noemi Valentíny), The Story of Eve (dir. by Klára Jůzová), Period Drama (dir. by Michaela Mihályiová), and The Princess and the Wolf (dir. by Michaela Jůzová). The jury of the second year of the Czech Horizon Grant will be composed of dramaturge and producer Anna Vášová, director Kristina Dufková, PPF Foundation board member Jana Tomas Sedláčková, producer Vladimír Lhoták, and director and animator Pavel Koutský.