Jan Švankmajer is a Czech animator and director, described as a surrealist, whose work was honoured in 2016 by the International Federation of Film Archives.
Jan Švankmajer is a Czech animator and director. Czech Television describes him as a surrealist and states that in 2016 he was 81 years old, which corresponds to a birth around 1934 or 1935[2].
Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The work of Jan Švankmajer was honoured by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). The federation's president, Eric Le Roy, presented him with an award in the form of a film reel at the film festival in Karlovy Vary[2]. The award highlighted the director's passion for surrealist absurdity[2]. According to Švankmajer himself, not many people care for such a vision of the world, and only few are willing to contribute to it financially[2]. The director added: "I have enough ideas, but the money for their realisation is missing."[2] The article states that the filmmaker's last project in progress was stalling for lack of funds[2].
The film Insect and an exhibition at DSC Gallery in Prague
In 2016 the Prague DSC Gallery opened an exhibition of Jan Švankmajer's latest artworks in support of the crowdfunding campaign that the director was running to finance his film[1]. Visitors could view objects from the last three years of his work, that is, roughly from 2013 to 2016[1]. Olga Trčková of DSC Gallery said of the exhibition that the works are in themselves unrelated to the film and are free-standing work, which at the same time spontaneously supports the financing of the new film[1]. According to her, the works were selected a few days before Jan Švankmajer's departure to Šumava, where the director was creating and preparing the film, and the exhibition was meant to draw attention to the last days in which it was possible to contribute to the making of the film[1].
Švankmajer, according to his own words, claimed that the film he was preparing, titled Insect (Hmyz), would be his last film[1]. The film is based on a concept that was supposed to originate in the 1970s and is inspired by Kafka's The Metamorphosis and by a stage play by the Čapek brothers[1]. According to the plans of the time, the film was to premiere probably in 2018[1].
Financing of the film
According to an article from 2016, Švankmajer no longer had to fear the lack of funds that had previously hindered the preparation of the film[1]. He raised the target amount of the crowdfunding campaign long before it ended and entered the last week of the collection with more than 200 thousand dollars, which corresponded to 150 percent of the originally requested amount[1].
Sources
- Česká televize (ČT24) — 29 June 2016
- Česká televize (ČT24)