Unexpected and unexpected works by Jan Švankmajer, a master of animation and cinematic surrealism who has been seen little and badly in Italy. The short films provide a rather complete picture of the director/artist, bringing to light a disturbing and crazy, unconscious and irreverent universe. A long journey contaminated by different techniques and different languages, where stop-motion movement predominates, animating masks, toys and clay characters and where there is also space for traditional animation, collage and theatre. A fundamental edition for lovers of surreal and bizarre cinema that, finally, fills a gap, revealing the roots of a good part of modern and contemporary cinema. Let us remember that Švankmajer was a source of inspiration for directors such as Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam, and represents a true legend for cartoonists around the world. Svankmajer is a master who cannot be ignored and his shorts are still extremely modern today. A fundamental (re)discovery.
Excerpt from “Conversation with Jan Švankmajer”
“Most of my films were produced by state institutions because, until November 1989, in Bohemia, the state had a monopoly, so it was impossible to make films independently. It seems incredible that works like these were shot during the totalitarian system...”
“[...] I hope to be able to communicate the fact that the objects in my films are really 'found' and not created. [...] If I had to translate the script literally into images I would be doing the job of a clerk, while if things are written down only five minutes before shooting it is possible to bring together atmospheres and suggestions captured in the moment.”
“The objects that I like and that I use in my films are those that have fulfilled a function in a certain context, taking on precise contents. These objects are imbued with experience. The same goes for people.” “Detail always has a magical power because suddenly on the screen we can enlarge something that is real, but that in everyday life we do not perceive.”
“[...] the greatest influence on my work has certainly been exerted by painters rather than directors [...] I consider myself a painter even before a filmmaker, moreover I am clearly against any type of professionalism. Cinema is only one of the many means of expression that I use, I believe that it is only out of laziness that one dedicates oneself to a single field.”
“The art market today is no longer interested in surrealism. I have a profound contempt for the market, I have never tried to sell my works and I am proud to belong to the surrealist group even in the 90s. Surrealism represents for me a way of life and interests me above all as a group movement...”
” [...] I look for the fantastic element in real reality. In this way the viewer is able to question the utilitarian relationship with things and to recover the magical relationship with things that our predecessors had. My aspiration is basically to make “surrealist documentaries”. I think the more fantastic the core of the film is, the more concrete you have to be in showing the details, otherwise you lose the subversive effect of the whole thing."
