Focus
Section dedicated to curatorial selections focusing on chosen cultural and popcultural aspects of contemporary animation: geographic, historiographic and thematic selections.
The Early Days of Czech Animation – The First Advertisements
Know everything that two boys and a dog are up to today!
unknown | 1925 | 7 min
Advertisement for Sana margarine. The concluding text of the commercial claims: “Every proper boy must feed on margarine.”
Adí the Raccoon
Georg Woelz | 1931 | 4 min
Advertisement for Radion washing powder. Its title character is a racoon who uses the washing powder to wash the bears’ dirty laundry.
The Rise of the Beets
Svend Noldan | 1928 | 10 min
Advertisement for artificial fertilizers. The beets in Farmer Mighty’s field are smaller because he fertilizes his field with manure instead of potash. At night, the beets from his field rise up and organize a protest.
The Metamorphosis of Uncle Bobby
unknown | 1930 | 5 min
Advertisement for the Schicht company’s Vitello margarine. Uncle Bobby goes to ask a magic king for help, who turns him into the charming Schicht advertising doll.
Fat and Bony Cows
unknown | 1929 | 7 min
Advertisement for Kainit potash fertilizer. Jíra’s cows are bony. He sees that his neighbour Tomeš has prime cattle because Tomeš fertilizes his fields and meadows with potash, and so his cows have much better feed.
The New Adventures of Felix the Cat
Karel Dodal | 1927 | 2 min
Advertisement for savings. A swarm of bees flies out of the hive and the bees use their bodies to write “Work and Save!” Savings book in hand, Felix immediately sets off to the Savings Bank in town. He sighs contentedly: “Good thing that the bees reminded me...”
Freshwater Lifeguard
Karel Dodal | 1929 | 9 min
Advertisement for the Brouk and Babka department store in Prague, Pilsen, Ostrava and České Budějovice. Felix the Cat is captured by a tribe of cannibals. He is helped by two beetles, who bring the cannibals everything they crave. Felix wonders how they managed to find all those things, and the beetles confess to owning the Brouk and Babka department stores – where you can find everything.
Champion
unknown | 1928 | 5 min
Advertisement for the Schicht company’s Ceres margarine. Various foods participate in a sports competition in the disciplines of fat content, nutritional value and price: cheese, eggs, a goose, chocolate, butter, flour and Ceres 100% pure margarine. The margarine is the absolute winner in all categories.
Tungsram
unknown | 1935 | 2 min
Advertisement for Gramoradio Prague-Letná’s vacuum tubes for Tungsram radios. A singer in a recording studio shows off his voice register. New vacuum tubes jump out of the boxes and into the radios while the old tubes sadly march away.
The Sounding Universe
Karel Dodal, Irena Dodalová | 1936 | 2 min
Advertisement for Telefunken vacuum tubes. Sound waves fill the space around the globe. We watch them as they wander and spread throughout the land. The Telefunken vacuum tubes capture the waves and transform them into perfect sound.
Three Men
Irena Dodalová, Karel Dodal | 1936 | 3 min
Advertisement for Three Men washing powder from the Hradec Králové-based Pilnáček company. Three women sing. A line of men – the mascots from the Three Men washing powder – marches outside the window. The men split up, approach three tubs in three rooms, and wash the laundry.
The Wizard of Sound
Irena Dodalová, Karel Dodal | 1936 | 2 min
Advertisement for Telefunken radios. A wizard appears in the sky and uses his magic wand to summon some musicians, who float in the atmosphere. One by one, the wizard puts the musicians into a box and then closes the lid. The box turns into a Telefunken radio.
The Early Days of Czech Animation – First Films
Important Personalities of Our Life
unknown | 1928 | 3 min
Important personalities of the Czech nation in drawings. A hand draws the portraits of Tomáš G. Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, Alois Rašín, Jindřich Fügner and Bedřich Smetana.
A Water Sprite in Love
Hermína Týrlová | 1928 | 11 min
A film about a reckless water sprite and his jealous wife. The mother water sprite rocks her little water sprites in the pond, while the philandering father enjoys himself with the wood nymphs on the shore, playing love songs to a willow-tree fairy on his mandolin.
Bimbo’s Sad Adventure
Karel Dodal, Irena Dodalová | 1930 | 10 min
Jára the illustrator is sad. Distracted, he spills a bottle of ink on the table. Out of the ink rises Bimbo the Clown, who thanks Jára for liberating him. The clown then keeps trying to come up with ways of surprising the illustrator in order to cheer him up.
Fantaisie érotique
Irena Dodalová, Karel Dodal | 1936 | 2 min
Abstract geometric patterns result in a symphony of motion and colour to the rhythm of music.
The Weather House
unknown | 1945 | 9 min
A cartoon comedy about a boy puppet and a girl puppet who foreVoices the weather. The rain boy and sun girl live together in a little house. The boy has a hat and a little umbrella and forecasts foul weather, while the girl forecasts sunshine.
Spejbl in the Thrall of Film
Josef Skupa | 1931 | 30 min
Spejbl’s failed attempt at a film career. Spejbl yearns for a career in the movies, and so he posts a newspaper ad offering himself as an actor. When he receives a response, he sends his son Hurvínek to visit the agent in his place.
The Early Days of Czech Animation – Films for Children
When Someone Undertakes a Journey...
unknown | 1930 | 4 min
Advertisement for the Schicht company’s Vitello margarine. A cow and a hen go to the factory that produces Vitello margarine, where they deliver their milk and eggs. The next to come is a coconut tree with its coconuts – and in just a moment the margarine is ready.
Wedding in the Coral Sea
unknown | 1944 | 10 min
A merry story from the underwater world about the love between two little fish who are threatened by an evil octopus. The two fish lovers do not notice the octopus, who kidnaps the goldfish and takes her to his home in an old shipwreck. The octopus tries to court the goldfish, but she only wants to be liberated. An angry army of fish is already approaching the wreck.
A Christmas Dream
Bořivoj Zeman, Karel Zeman | 1945 | 10 min
A story about the funny pranks of a rag doll that comes to life in a little girl’s Christmas-Eve dream.
Ferda the Ant
Hermína Týrlová, Ladislav Zástěra | 1944 | 10 min
A puppet comedy featuring the popular Ferda the Ant, who outsmarts an evil spider with the help of his friends. Based on the book by Ondřej Sekora.
The Naughty Bunny
Horst von Möllendorff | 1944 | 9 min
A cartoon comedy about the pranks of a small mischievous bunny while decorating Easter eggs. The rabbits are diligently preparing for Easter. The smallest one is bored by the work and instead invents ways to make it easier for himself and the others.
Seen-it-All’s Adventure
Irena Dodalová, Karel Dodal | 1936 | 13 min
An explanation of the principle of radio broadcasting. At the beginning of the film, Hurvínek introduces himself as the film’s protagonist – Seen-it-All.
UPA Generation - Design
The Wonder Gloves
Robert Cannon | USA | 1951 | 7 min
Uncle George is showing Little Johnny, his nephew, the pair of boxing gloves he claims helped him to beat up the bullying prize-fighting champion when he was the janitor at a training-gym. Little Johnny scoffs at the tale until the “wonder gloves” give him a spanking.
Gerald McBoing! Boing! on Planet Moo
Robert Cannon | USA | 1956 | 7 min
Gerald is abducted by hip-speaking aliens on a flying saucer and whisked to the Planet Moo. There, he’s introduced to the King. Keen to establish links with Earth, the aliens try to learn how to speak like Gerald!
Rooty Toot Toot
John Hubley | USA | 1952 | 8 min
The story of Frankie and Johnny: Frankie walks into a bar, where she catches her boyfriend Johnny with the sensuous Nelly Bly and kills him in a fit of jealousy. The story is told in song, during the trial, and the bartender and Nelly both tell essentially the same story; Frankie’s lawyer spins a wild tale of Johnny out-running bullets and Frankie trying to return his gun, and the jury buys it!
A jazz adaptation of the old blues murder ballad “Frankie & Johnny,” set in a courtroom.
Christopher Crumpet
Robert Cannon | USA | 1953 | 7 min
Christopher Crumpet’s father has a dilemma: his son wants a rocket – a REAL rocket – and if Christopher doesn’t get his way, he turns into a chicken. When Crumpet’s creepy co-worker, Bilgewater, tries to use Christopher’s “talent” to win a bet, he fails miserably.
“Either you get him what he wants or you got a chicken for a son.”
The Tell-Tale Heart
Ted Parmelee | USA | 1953 | 8 min
One of the most discussed and imaginative cartoons of any era. It tells the famous E.A. Poe story of the deranged boarder who had to kill his landlord, not for greed, but because he possessed an “evil eye.” The killer is never seen but his presence is felt by the use of light-and-shadow to give the impression of impending disaster. According to UPA, the art style was derived from Eugene Berman, scenic designer and ballet designer of NYC’s Metropolitan Opera. Academy-Award nominee for Best Short Subject (Cartoon), 1954.
Willie the Kid
Robert Cannon | USA | 1952 | 6 min
Little Willie’s large imagination turns his family home in the suburbs into the Wild West when he puts on his cowboy suit, guns, holsters and hat, and goes out to play with his friend Archie.
The Oompahs
Robert Cannon | USA | 1952 | 7 min
This musical cartoon features lots of jazz, with musical instruments as the cartoon’s main characters. Orville the trumpet has a nervous breakdown when his father, a tuba and a devotee of the park band school of music, refuses to allow him to play jazz.
Baby Boogie
Paul Julian | USA | 1955 | 6 min
A little girl wants to know where babies come from, but no one will tell her, so she asks everyone that crosses her path.
Fudget’s Budget
Robert Cannon | USA | 1954 | 7 min
George Fudget tries to get his family to economize in this whimsical story about living on a family budget.
UPA Open to Sailing and Jamaica Daddy
Lew Keller | USA | 1958 | 7 min
From the series “Ham and Hattie”. It’s a beautiful day for sailing, so Hattie launches her sailboat across a fountain pond, but a frog sinks her sailboat, which is returned by a policeman. Ham sings a calypso song called “Jamaica Daddy.” UPA Open is a theatrical opening animated by Rod Scribner. It was used in front of UPA's "Ham and Hattie" series in the late-1950s.
The Lost Duchess
Rod Scribner | USA | 1956 | 6 min
Case no. 600. The private dick searches for a missing duchess, UPA-style.
UPA Generation - Classic
Tom Sito’s introduction
USA | 5 min
A brief history of UPA, as presented by Tom Sito. Tom Sito is currently a professor of Cinematic Practice at USC’s George Lucas School of Cinematic Arts. He is vice president of the International Animator’s Society (ASIFA/Hollywood) and a member of the Motion Picture Academy, and other institutions. In 2010 was awarded the June Foray Award from the Hollywood Chapter of the International Animators Society for a lifetime of service to the animation community.
Flat Hatting
John Hubley | USA | 1944 | 6 min
They don’t train ‘em with cartoons anymore! A wonderful “instructional” film designed to warn US Air Force pilots about the perils of cowboy flying.
US Navy animated film from 1946 about flight safety.
Hell-Bent for Election
Chuck Jones | USA | 1944 | 12 min
In this cartoon, a political piece paid for by the United Auto Workers, presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt is portrayed as streamlined express train, while Thomas Dewey is shown as an old, tired steamer. The voters are encouraged not to “fall asleep at the switch” when it came time to support FDR. One of UPA’s first films and a true classic.
The Brotherhood of Man
Robert Cannon | USA | 1945 | 10 min
Race relations film for United Auto Workers. Adapted from a pamphlet that was way ahead of its time.
The Magic Fluke
John Hubley | USA | 1949 | 7 min
The Fox and Crow have a band-act in a nightclub, but the Fox walks out on his partner when he gets the position of a symphony-orchestra conductor. The Fox becomes famous while his old partner is on skid row, cold and hungry. One night, the Crow appears backstage at the concert hall and hands a magician’s wand to the Fox as he goes onstage... Best Short Subject Academy Award Nominee 1950 and BAFTA Film Award winner for Best Animated Film 1958.
The Ragtime Bear
John Hubley | USA | 1949 | 7 min
Mr. Magoo theatrical for Columbia Pictures Release. The first Mr. Magoo cartoon, based on the character created by Butch Kaufman and John Hubley. Magoo, mistakes a banjo-loving bear for his own banjo-loving nephew, with hilarious consequences. Magoo looks a little different from his later appearances.
When Magoo Flew
Pete Burness | USA | 1955 | 7 min
The near-sighted Mr. Magoo sets off to go to the movies, but goes to an airport by mistake and gets on a plane thinking it to be a theater. Little does Magoo know the man he is sitting next to is actually a thief, and when a detective appears on the plane to track the thief down, Magoo thinks it’s all part of the movie. Best Short Subject Academy Award Winner 1955.
Gerald McBoing Boing
Robert Cannon, John Hubley | USA | 1951 | 7 min
The story of a little boy who only talks in sound effects instead of spoken words. With a story by Dr. Seuss (and Bill Scott of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame), this cartoon won the 1950 Oscar for best short subject (animated) and was also nominated for the BAFTA Film Special Award 1952.
Spare the Child
Abe Liss | USA | 1955 | 7 min
A son makes a birthday wish to switch places with his father to discipline him the way he thinks it should be done.
A Unicorn in the Garden
William T. Hurtz | USA | 1953 | 6 min
This short uses the drawing style of James Thurber to illustrate a story about a meek little man who sees a unicorn in his garden. In this prototypical tale, the meek husband gets the better of his overbearing wife. “Moral: Don’t count your boobies before they are hatched!”
Madeline
Robert Cannon | USA | 1952 | 7 min
This delightful story for children tells about Madeline, the smallest girl in the school, who has to have her appendix out. This film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Short Subject in 1953.
The Jaywalker
Robert Cannon | USA | 1956 | 7 min
A weird story about a man who gives up everything to jaywalk. He has taken up jaywalking as a hobby, and it quickly becomes manic, almost obsessive, behaviour. Nominated for Best Short Subject Academy Award 1957.
UPA Generation - Other Studios
Stop Driving Us Crazy
Mel Emde | USA | 1959 | 10 min
An alien spy from Mars disguises himself as a car, and reports the “sinful” and deplorable driving habits of earthlings to his commanders. Produced by a branch of the Methodist Church, this movie is widely regarded as one of the weirdest ephemeral films of the post-Second World War era.
Destination Earth
Carl Urbano | USA | 1956 | 14 min
The cartoon begins by establishing the planet Mars, ruled by a dictator named Ogg. The Martians are small green guys with big noses and space helmets. The poor guys are herded by soldiers into a coliseum where Ogg forces them to applaud as they hear his criticisms of problems with Martian ground transportation. A single Martian is sent to Earth to find a solution.
The Rivals of Roquefort Hall
Chuck Jones | USA | 1942 | 9 min
Three fun-loving, morally upright brothers from Pimento University save their fiancée from their fiendish archenemy, Dan Backslide, in this spoof of the Rover Boys.
Deputy Droopy
Tex Avery, Michael Lah | USA | 1955 | 7 min
Two villains repeatedly try to steal gold from a safe in the sheriff’s office, and must do so without waking the sleeping sheriff. Droopy makes it all that more difficult for them, though.
Symphony in Slang
Tex Avery | USA | 1951 | 7 min
Various saints are logging details of everyone entering Heaven, but because they’re a bit out of touch with early 1950s slang, they come up with some very strange impressions of a recently deceased young man’s life when he describes it to them.
Moonbird
John Hubley | USA | 1959 | 10 min
Two boys leave their home at night to venture around, and so they encounter the Moonbird. The film was awarded Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) in 1960.
The Adventures of an *
John Hubley | USA | 1957 | 10 min
A baby, represented by the “*” symbol, enjoys the visual excitement of the world. As he grows, his appreciation dwindles. Then, as his child grows, the flame rekindles. We see the maturing process of man, symbolized by the asterisk, showing how an adult again sees the world through his own child.
The Juggler of Our Lady
Al Kouzel, Gene Deitch | USA | 1958 | 7 min
A juggler has little success making a living; he puts on a hair shirt and becomes an ascetic, but attracts only other ascetics. Finally, in desperation, he becomes a monk. One day, a festival is held for the Lady, and each of the monks offers his gift, but the juggler has nothing. Frustrated, he juggles for her, all night, alone.
Sidney the Elephant – Sidney’s Family Tree
Art Bartsch, Gene Deitch | USA | 1958 | 7 min
Sidney – a goofy elephant – is always trying to fit in, but never quite does. Everyone in the jungle has a mother except poor Sidney. Sidney tries to get adopted, but no one wants him as their son until a monkey couple takes him in as their big, bouncing baby boy. This episode was nominated for an Academy Award for Best short subject.
Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom
Ward Kimball, Charles A. Nichols | USA | 1953 | 10 min
Professor Owl takes his class through a basic history of music, from cavemen times to present day, explaining the four archetypes and how they work together to create pleasant sounds. This Academy Award winner is presented unedited and in its original Cinemascope aspect ratio. The film won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject in 1954.
UPA Generation - Gene Deitch Films
Howdy Doody and his Magic Hat
Gene Deitch | USA | 1953 | 7 min
A UPA experimental film about a young cowboy, (a re-designed Howdy Doody), who rides a wild bucking bronco thinking he is wearing a magic hat, and even when the hat flies off his head, he conquers the mustang with pure grit. The first cartoon to feature directorial credit to Gene Deitch. It was commissioned by the Kagran Corporation as a pilot for a Howdy Doody animated series.
Pump Trouble
Gene Deitch | USA | 1954 | 13 min
An anxious man in his forties quits his job and resigns himself to an early death after a supposed heart attack, but his doctor sets him straight.
Tom Terrific - Go West Young Manfred
Gene Deitch | USA | 1958 | 7 min
Tom Terrific was an early animated series on American television, presented as part of the captain kangaroo children's television show. It was about a boy who could change into whatever he wanted to. In this episode, Tom and Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog go back in time, where they help the last surviving pioneer to California.
Depth Study
Gene Deitch | USA | 1957 | 14 min
Three archaeologists learn about the impact television, especially the CBS network, had on post-war America.
Munro
Gene Deitch | Czechoslovakia | 1960 | 8 min
The title character is a rebellious little boy who is accidentally drafted into the United States Army. No matter which adult he tells “I’m only four”, they all fail to notice his age. Academy Award Winner for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) in 1961.
Self-Defense For Cowards
Gene Deitch | USA | 1962 | 8 min
In a series of vignettes, we see how to “win” a barroom fight by such tactics as going limp, garlic breath, screaming, enlisting the help of a large, intimidating friend, etc.
How to Live with a Neurotic Dog
Gene Deitch | Czechoslovakia | 1963 | 9 min
A pseudo-documentary showing various examples of “neurotic” dog behaviour and how to deal with it. The dry, satiric commentary in a British accent is performed by famous Hollywood-based movie actor Arthur Treacher. Czech audiences will be interested in the brilliant and hilarious dog designs created by the young Jiri Salamoun.
Nudnik 2
Gene Deitch | Czechoslovakia | 1965 | 6 min
Nudnik contains only one major character, named Yaramaz Nudnik. He can’t do anything right: when he does something, it usually ends with disastrous results, and usually gets him in trouble.
Though there were other characters, they were unnamed. None of these characters appeared more than once.
The Hobbit
Gene Deitch | Czechoslovakia | 1966 | 12 min
Slag the dragon ransacks the city of Dale. Only General Thorin Oakenshield, Princess Mika and a lone guard survive, and turn to the wizard Gandalf. He points them to a prophecy of the dragon’s death, for which they need a Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins initially refuses, but after some persuasion from Gandalf and the princess, joins the three on their quest.
Giants
Gene Deitch | Czechoslovakia | 1969 | 10 min
Two dwarfs – one bright blue and the other bright red – get into a fight, and each calls in a similarly colored giant to fight their battle. A satirical, allegorical story. The “heroes” are cowardly, narrow-minded dwarfs who destroy one another with the help of their protectors, the giants. The film discloses and mocks human intolerance, anger, cowardliness and irresponsibility. The film won the Golden Shell Award in San Sebastian in 1969.
Oscar 2013
Adam and Dog
Minkyu Lee | USA | 2011 | 15 min
The story about the dog of Eden. What happened in those first days of Creation that made Man and Dog so inseparable? The dog, as he lives through this curious world of Eden, encounters a strange creature; a human being named Adam – and with that discovers a new found connection to the world.
Fresh Guacamole
Adam Pesapane (PES) | USA | 2012 | 2 min
Learn how to transform familiar objects into Fresh Guacamole!
Head Over Heels
Timothy Reckart | UK | 2012 | 10 min
After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. They live separate, parallel lives, never talking, barely even looking at each other. When Walter tries to reignite their old romance, it brings their equilibrium crashing down, and the couple that can't agree which way is up must find a way to put their marriage back together.
Maggie Simpson in “the Longest Daycare”
David Silverman | USA | 2012 | 5 min
Maggie Simpson spends a day at the Ayn Rand Daycare Center where she is diagnosed at an average intelligence level. Longing to be grouped with the gifted children, Maggie finds her destiny by rescuing a lonely cocoon from Baby Gerald, who is busy smooching butterflies.
Paperman
John Kahrs | USA | 2012 | 7 min
Paperman tells the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office.
Presentation of US School UWM / T. Decker
Presentation of US School UWM / T. Decker
UWM Animation Program
The students that study animation/film at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts are in for an entertaining approach to character development and a more experimental approach to animated filmmaking. Here at UWM we focus on character development as applied to the traditional and stop-motion filmmaking process. Students at UWM will be asked to participate in claymation stop-motion classes, puppetry classes, traditional character development, and experimental approaches to filmmaking.
The Matc Animation Program
This program was started in 2003 by Brian Mennenoh and Jim Macdonald. Since then, the program accepts 40-50 new students yearly. The program starts out with traditional 2D animation before moving into “tradigital” animation and finishing with 3D modeling and animation. The software that we teach at MATC are 3D Studio Max, Toonboom Animate Pro, Storyboard Pro, Mudbox, ZBrush, and After Effects. We were the first school to offer digital drawing using the Waacom Cintiq tablets.
Tim Decker will come to present both schools. He has worked hard to create an inspirational and open studio that will encourage his students to experiment with all forms of animation as applied to filmmaking. UWM animation alumni work in several areas in the industry, and several have won awards across the nation.
John Roberts’ films have been screened at Sundance, Cannes, and many other film festivals internationally. Brooke Duckart’s film cat WACO is an animated music video for a song preformed by Screamin’ Cyn-Cyn & the Pons. Tommy Simms and Jamie Hazelwood focus on stop-motion claymation.
FILMS:
The adventures of Nigel and Reginald
Cat WACO
The Wheel
The Legend of Leatherface Larry
Sa 04/05/2013
10.00-11.30
Puppet Theatre
> map
Animated horror I.
Homunculus
Samuel Stephens, Chris Wolfgang Mauch | USA | 4 min
Homunculus is a dark and twisted fable of spontaneous generation and untrammelled id. Taking its title from the Latin word for “Little Human”, the piece is an associative mash-up between the two concepts behind the word: The first is the medieval alchemical belief that “little men” could be spontaneously generated from dead or decaying matter. The second is Carl Jung’s usage as a personification of pure id.
Fallen Art
Tomek Bagiński | Poland | 2004 | 6 min
An atoll. An old, forgotten military base in the Pacific. Soldiers who have lost their minds due to the hardships of past missions, and exemplary officers the Army can’t yet get rid of are sent there. Here, far away from civilization, from laws and rules, they nurture their insanities. Sergeant Al cultivates his love for the brave soldiers. Dr. Friedrich cultivates his talent for photography. And the old, mentally lost General A creates his art. He uses neither paper nor canvas. He attempts something completely different.
The End
Maxime Leduc, Michel Samreth. Martin Ruyant | France | 2005 | 6 min
A scarecrow befriends a bird. But in the eyes of its companions the magpie becomes a traitor. A beautiful story of friendship in a slightly morose context.
Bobby Yeah
Robert Morgan | UK | 2011 | 23 min
Bobby Yeah is a petty thug who lightens his miserable existence by brawling and stealing things. One day, he steals the favourite pet of some very dangerous individuals, and finds himself in deep trouble. He really should learn, but he just can’t help it.
The Passenger
Chris Jones | Australia | 2006 | 7 min
Storm clouds gather as a timid bookworm braves his daily walk to the bus stop. When he discovers what awaits him on board, he realises he would have been better off outside in the storm. Entirely self-funded and self-produced, this project was originally conceived as a showreel piece, but later upgraded to short film status.
Dark Vessel
Rocky Curby | Finland | 2012 | 6 min
A hopeless romantic is caught trespassing while trying to woo a girl. Problems occur when the girl’s father forces him to remove a dead man’s shadow. Tragically, the romantic becomes a vessel of death.
The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow
Rodrigo Godiño | Canada | 2008 | 6 min
An image that tells an entire story, The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow centres on a single photograph that dates back to the early 1930s. As the camera begins to investigate the particulars of the photo, however, it reveals a tapestry of secrets hidden in the details, and a tale of murder, kidnapping and sacrifice captured in a haunting moment.
Madame Tutli-Putli
Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski | USA | 2007 | 17 min
Madame Tutli-Putli is travelling alone on a night train, burdened by all her earthly goods and the ghosts of the past. She encounters both gentleness and enmity. Imprisoned in a desperate metaphysical adventure, at the mercy of the real and imaginary world, she must face her own demons. The film was nominated for the 2008 Oscar in the category of Short Animated Film.
Hemlock
Tyson Ibele | New Zealand | 2009 | 4 min
A man is on a quest to find the fountain of youth, only to discover that eternal life may have a heftier price than he imagined.
Animated Horror II.
The Twin Girls of Sunset Street
Marc Riba, Anna Solanas | Spain | 2010 | 13 min
Ointments, elixirs and poultices. Enriqueta and Ramoneta will attend your needs with discretion, reserve and pleasant manners at Sunset Street no. 17A, Barcelona. Not sold in drugstores or chemist’s shops.
Odokuro
Voltaire | Canada | 2011 | 7 min
The skeleton of a Sumatran Rat Monkey comes to life in a room full of haunted objects in this Gothic sci-fi tale with a Twilight Zone twist. Animated by MTV and SyFy Channel veteran Aurelio Voltaire and narrated by electro rock legend Gary Numan.
The Present
Joe Hsieh | Taiwan | 15 | 15 min
A married man checks into a hotel late at night. Unexpectedly, the hotel owner’s daughter, Kung Cher, falls madly in love with him and sneaks into his room to confess her love.
Shocked and not knowing how to react, he seduces her and escapes abruptly the next morning. When Kung Cher discovers that she has been betrayed, her love turns to hatred. Thus begins this suspenseful and intriguing tale.
Return to the Dream – A Cruel Tale
Andrés Vidal | Spain | 2012 | 5 min
An animated horror tale about a child lost in a strange world of dreams. His mother is his only hope; she is coming to his rescue.
Down to the Bone
Peter Ahern | USA | 2009 | 4 min
Little Michael has vicious allergies, and when babysitter Meredith arrives for a night of no-nonsense, he’s swiftly dispatched to the yard... where his delicate condition takes a turn for the worse.
Fuga
Juan Antonio Espigares | Spain | 2012 | 16 min
Sara, a newcomer to the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, discovers that there are more ways of interpreting each side of the lens through which she perceives her reality and talent.
Abyssus Abyssum Invocat
Wes Simpkins | USA | 2012 | 10 min
The macabre world of Abyssus Abyssum Invocat invokes the works of stop-motion animation masters Jan Švankmajer and the Brothers Quay. The film’s title translates as “hell invokes hell,” more commonly known as “one misdeed precedes another” or still more colloquially as “two wrongs do not make a right.” The film carries us through a trial in which the future (or the lack thereof) of a prisoner on death row hangs in the balance.
The Sandman
Paul Berry | UK | 1991 | 10 min
A chilling, stop-motion film based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s dark re-imagining of the folk tale The Sandman. A sinister intruder creeps into a boy’s bedroom at night. The outcome is a nightmare of unspeakable horror.
60 Years of Zagreb Film I.
The Inspector Returned Home
Vatroslav Mimica | 1959 | 10 min
An inspector walks the streets, trying to avoid “dangers”. At home, he washes his feet and reads the paper. Suddenly, he notices a fingerprint, which starts to run away. The inspector stalks its trail, passing nightclubs and casinos, the havens of the mysterious underworld. He is always serious and meticulous, constantly aware of the importance of his profession. In the end, he discovers the culprit.
Ersatz
Dušan Vukotić | 1961 | 10 min
On the beach, a tourist inflates and blows up a whole plastic village. In this painted and inflated ambiance there is a plastic ersatz for everything, including sentiments. On the beach, a passionate love develops, provoking jealousy, vengeance and in the end – tragedy. But all this is blown away in one go as soon as a small nail gets involved into the proceedings.
Don Quixote
Vlado Kristl | 1961 | 11 min
This film shows Don Quixote and his servant Sancho Panza on their adventures. The valiant knight fights against policemen and a whole army, driving them all in a panicked flight after a brawl with his old enemy – the windmill.
The Fifth One
Pavao Štalter, Zlatko Grgić | 1964 | 3 min
A short cartoon, a humoresque of human stubbornness, shown through the playing of a harmonious quartet and an indestructible pest – the trumpet player.
The Fly
Aleksandar Marks, Vladimir Jutriša | 1965 | 11 min
A film about the relationship between a man and a fly, in which the aggravating persistence of the fly grows into an obsession for the man and, in his consciousness, turns into a virtual monster. At the point when the monstrosity of the fly reaches its climax, the man succumbs to the superior power of the fly. In order to maintain the balance of things in human nature, the fly takes on human dimensions and arrives at a compromise.
Of Holes and Corks
Ante Zaninović | 1967 | 9 min
An amazing force from the depths of the earth plays with a person, allowing him to believe that he has overcome it and his naiveté. Unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy, he becomes overconfident from his apparent triumph.
The Cat
Zlatko Bourek | 1971 | 10 min
A ballad based on an old Aesop fable: a young poet is lonesome until Venus provides him with company, transforming his cat into a beautiful girl. But one single enticement suffices to show the girl’s basic feline nature, and so this odd idyll ends with an even odder solution…
Diary
Nedeljko Dragić | 1974 | 8 min
Souvenirs, memories, nostalgia, alienation, the ephemeral quality of life... these are the subjects of this animated diary. The film is not made in the usual way (screenplay, storyboard), and was born at the moment when the author sat at his desk and began animating.
60 Years of Zagreb Film II.
Fisheye
Joško Marušić | 1979 | 9 min
In a little fishing village, people have lived by the established way for generations. But one night, things fall into disorder, and the morning brings doubt: what is fiction and what is not…
Album
Krešimir Zimonić | 1980 | 11 min
As the film opens, a young girl is thumbing through a family photo album. Her childhood memories are brought to life, and static pictures begin to move. Memory is transformed into a metaphoric story about the past turning into dreams of the future. The film is the creation of a comic strip artist.
An Exciting Love Story
Borivoj Dovniković Bordo | 1989 | 6 min
We follow the protagonist’s search for his love on a screen divided into eight parts.
In fact, the project is the author’s experimentation with the visual phenomenon of animated film.
Satiemania
Zdenko Gašparović | 1978 | 17 min
The fauna of the megalopolis, the jungle of the supermarket, the bedlam of brothels and bars, the effects of the bars in fog, the swaying ears of corn, the swaying of men hanging from the gallows, the ripple of water – seen by the eye of the animator in harmony and conflict and accompanied by the satirical, mocking, but sometimes pure lyrical music of Eric Satie.
The Cake
Danijel Šuljić | 1997 | 8 min
A group of people are celebrating, sitting around the table.
The celebration cake is served, but unevenly divided among them…
In-dividu
Nicole Hewit | 1998 | 8 min
The deconstruction, decomposition and dislocation of the animate and the inanimate.
Every Day for Itself, Never Together
Goran Trbuljak | 2002 | 7 min
An animated film about newspapers, readers and real life on the street.
Theory of Reflections
Darko Bakliža | 2007 | 7 min
The time is present or the nearest future. The space is undefined. A middle-aged man and woman decide to change/improve their looks.
Malformance Performance
Tomislav Gregl | 2007 | 4 min
The film tells a story about the emergence of evil through clay heads of leaders from throughout history.
No Sleep Won’t Kill You
Marko Meštrović | 2010 | 9 min
What happens when a dream takes control over reality?