PRESENTATION OF A BOOK ABOUT ANIMATION AT ANIMAFEST ZAGREB
On Wednesday, June 8th in the French Institute's Mediatheque, Olga and Michal Bobrowscy will present their book "Twisted Dreams of Central European Animation '.
Collective volume "Obsession. Perversion. Rebellion. Twisted Dreams of Central European Animation” consists of the articles dedicated to the subversive and suppressed motifs present in auteur animated films from Visegrad countries and Italy. The authors – among them Marcin Giżycki (Animator Festival; Rhode Island School of Design, USA), Bogusław Zmudziński (Etiuda&Anima IFF; AGH), Guo Chunning (Renmin University, Beijing), Denis Viren (National Institute of Arts, Moscow), Paola Bristot (Academy of Fine Arts, Venice) – examine the artistic works in the contexts of Central European politics and societies, they also investigate careers of particular artists from the region. The papers written by Polish or Czech authors dialogue with the output of the scholars from Italy, Russia or China. Joint reflection of the diverse group of the scholars outlines the landscape of animated film, an art that engaging both, the senses and the intellect. The authors draw readers' attention to several issues, among them to the question of the powerless of Polish animated satire; resemblance of animated documentary medium in the framework of both New Chinese School of Animation and contemporary Polish and Czech productions; intertextual relations between animated westerns and live-action cinema of Sergio Leone or Sam Peckinpah; artistic personalities of Jan Švankmajer, Zdzisław Kudła, or Alexander Sroczyński.
Auteur animated film may seem as “niche within niche”, a hermetic cultural phenomenon available only for the limited group of enthusiasts. The authors of the publication indicate how falsely such statement appear. The animated films present in the festival circuit or published in various DVD collections reveal the richness and diversity of narratives that question social status quo, historical canon established by the critiques, modes of perception of contemporary animation that frequently overlaps with the field of interactive, intermedia art. The history and the critique of animated film is inevitably connected with film cultural activism aimed at promotion of artistic animation. It is not a surprise that the scholars dedicated to the subject of animation often become the filmmakers or the organizers of the cultural events. Personal experiences of the authors who contribute to the Krakow scene of animation (Wiola Sowa, Robert Sowa, Bogusław Zmudziński) complement this academic volume with the essays portraying trends and tendencies of contemporary Polish animation art.
The book was written in English language however the articles examining Italian animation are published in Italian language additionally.
More information about presentation you can find on Animafest Zagreb official website.
Olga Bobrowska - the Director of the festival of stop motion animation StopTrik International Film Festival (Slovenia/Poland). She is also a PhD. candidate in Film Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. She conducts a research on Chinese animated film in the period between 1957 – 1989, focusing on the junction of art and ideology in film production.
Michał Bobrowski - Programme Director of StopTrik International Film Festival. PhD in Film Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, he is an author of a book dedicated to work of Akira Kurosawa, numerous articles devoted to classic Japanese and American cinema as well as worldwide animated film.
text: stoptrikiff.eu