The Magic Worlds of Czech Animation

October 3, 2004 - October 7, 2004

Jirí Trnka at work.

Imaginative and inventive, poetic and incisive, Czech animation has captured an international audience since the late 1940s. In three delightful programs, we present a tribute to Czech pioneers in animation Jirí Trnka (1912–1965) and Jirí Bárta (born 1948). If Trnka's puppet-animated films developed from his career as a children's book illustrator (he is often dubbed the Walt Disney of Europe), in no way are these shorts just for kids: an early film offers a parody of the German occupation; his swan song is a nightmarish allegory on artistic freedom. "Anything can be made to move, anything can be played with" is the motto in Bárta's films. He animates virtually any material, from paper cutouts to firewood and walnuts. Don't miss The Pied Piper, an epic puppet animation in which Bárta retells the German legend with Gothic wit.

Sunday, October 3, 2004
5:30 p.m. Shorts by Jirí Trnka
Introduced by Russell Merritt. From wartime slapstick to his last, allegorical masterpiece The Hand, see why Trnka is the idol of animators worldwide.

Wednesday, October 6, 2004
7:30 p.m. The Pied Piper
Jirí Bárta's unique animated feature combines puppetry, painting, and live-action (the rats!) to create an expressionistic folk metaphor for the fall of a materialistic society. With Bárta shorts Disc Jockey, The Extinct World of Gloves, and The Club of Discarded Ones.

Thursday, October 7, 2004
5:30 p.m. The Czech Year (Free Screening!)
Free First Thursday Screening! Jirí Trnka's charming puppet film illustrating traditional Czech customs is perfect for all ages.

This series was organized by the Czech Center, New York; we extend our thanks to Monika Koblerova, deputy director.

We also wish to thank Vladimir Opela, director and curator of the National Film Archive (Narodni Filmovy Archiv, Prague), and Kratky Films for providing prints.