Ilja Novák, the Rebel From Ostrava

Ilja Novák, the Rebel From Ostrava

The screening will take place with the participation of Ilja Novák.

The most prominent personality of Studio Prometheus, the Ostrava branch of Krátký Film Studio, was graphic artist and director Ilja Novák. The theme of festival, Anifilm Animation & Humour represented an ideal opportunity to screen his films. Almost all of them aim to make the audience laugh. But, as is typical for Czech animation, they’re not straightforward slapstick.

In addition to using ubiquitous irony, Novák’s films move along two often intersecting lines. The first represents black humour, as we can see in Merry Christmas, or Charlie’s Winter Adventure. The second represents satire, very concrete and biting for its time. Perfect examples are His Excellency and What is Your Opinion, Baron?, a film which was heavily censored.

In addition to harsh criticism, Novák’s films stand out from the rest of domestic production thanks to their artistic expression. Although very different in stylisation, in some moments, Novák’s films are reminiscent of the animation used by Igor Ševčík and Pavel Koutský. Novák doesn’t work in one layer, but his movements and editing using image transformations are typical for total animation.

To re-introduce the slightly forgotten works of the Ostrava native, we will screen Kanga, Roo, and Dingo the Dog and a wacky series ignored by television channels, Lux and Delux.

• Lux and Delux in Space
  1992 / 8’
• The Aggressors
  1980 / 8’
• What Is Your Opinion, Baron?
  1984, 7’
• Merry Christmas, or Charlie’s Winter Adventure
  1982, 10’
• The Robinsons
  1986, 10’
• Virtuoso
  1983, 7’
• His Excellency
  1985, 10’
• Kanga, Roo and Dingo the Dog: How Roo Caught a Butterfly
  1995, 6’