Poland

“At the beginning of grammar school, as my feeling for film was gradually developing, I saw a retrospective of animation films by Piotr Dumała. On the day I saw the film “Łagodna”, my perception of film as a medium changed for- ever and shaped my career. The film I had seen on the screen, surrounded by darkness in the cinema, transported me and the other viewers to a world of remarkable intimacy and magic. It established a living dialogue between the author and audience.” (Piotr Szczepanowicz)

Content and emotions are the quintessence of Polish animation films, which has primarily focused on human beings and their relationship to the visible and invisible. This thought, that the human being is most important, was also a guiding light for the growing Polish animation school. And it served as our basis when compiling the four film blocks for “Focus Poland”. In the “Inner Worlds” block, you discover an inner world composed of elements involving our desires, dreams and fears depicted by means of metaphorical and poetic narration. Two further blocks – “Between Two of Us” and “Social Puzzle” – zero in on interpersonal relation- ships, involving the intimate between two humans as well as the social between the individual and collective. These films remind us that life is a never-ending stream of emotions in a chain of action and reaction. The fourth Block – “On the Move” – is a collection of stories about jour- neys that every one of us has gone through time and again. Every journey has a destination, which frequently turns out to be somewhat irrelevant as progress is made – whether it involves a sentimental journey for reasons of yearning or an inner journey. In addition, Fantoche presents two animated feature films that significantly influenced the development of animation in Poland. One is “George the Hedgehog” a domestic production whose high attendance figures render it a prime example of commercial animation for the cinema in Poland. The second film, “Crulic – The Path to Beyond”, is a Rumanian-Polish production which won awards at many festivals. It is considered a classic example of an inter- national coproduction realised in Poland.

A veritable discovery, even for aficionados, is the array of Polish animation films by Jan January Janczak in the 1970s. After Janczak came to Switzerland in 1980 and was forced to stay because of the political upheavals in his homeland, the films remained buried in Po- land’s archives for years. It is only now that they are returning to the screen here at the Fantoche Festival and provide us with a supplemental chapter for delving into the history of animation film in Poland. The training ground for new cadres of Polish animation film is the film school in Łódź, which presents in conjunction with “Focus Poland” a selection of films by its numerous and now famous graduates.

In addition to this, the Human Ark Studio presents its productions, exemplifying a large number of extremely active studios in Poland. The focus on Polish animation at the 13th Fantoche Festival sheds light on a country with not only an impressively rich animation history and tradition, but also a dynamic and highly differentiated contemporary scene, represented by a young generation of directors. The selection of the outstanding Polish films from the past 10 years is juxtaposed with hand-drawn classic animation films well known from poetic-metaphoric narration. Fantoche and the team of curators invite you to join us on an inspiring and moving journey that is certain to animate many emotions. (ps, as) 
Curated by Anja Šošić and Piotr Szczepanowicz