A festival look back at Slovak animation: From struggles for existence to creative renaissance

Although the first Slovak animated film - Viktor Kubal's The Well of Love - was made in 1944, the real boom did not come until two decades later.

Unlike in the Czech Republic, where animation had a strong background and state support, in Slovakia it was long perceived as a marginal and economically disadvantageous field.

It was only in the 1960s, on the basis of the unceasing interest in animation by the employees of the Trick and Graph department, pressure from their other supporters, and the successful work of Viktor Kubal in the news film industry, that the systematic production of animated films in Slovakia was finally supported by the management of the state film company, 

explained film theoretician Eva Šošková, adding that since 1965 there has been talk of a separate creative group for cartoon film. Shortly before that, Penguin was made, the first film of the new era, based on a cartoon by Ivan Popovič - another prominent name in Slovak animation. Today, Slovak animation is experiencing a renaissance with a new generation of animators.

Today the festival will offer a selection of Slovak films compiled in cooperation with the Slovak Film Institute. Adult viewers can look forward to a profile section dedicated to Viktor Kubal, while younger audiences will get to know other important Slovak filmmakers. Special attention will be paid to the changes in Slovak animation - from its cartoon origins to today's wave of authorship, which brings strong personal testimonies of a new generation of creators.

More in the film programme here.