Don’t Interrupt Young Filmmakers; They Have Something to Tell Us

The film Elektra by the aforementioned director is definitely not missing in this year's competitive section of student films at the Zlín Dog festival. In this category of animated films, a total of 25 of them are competing. Year after year, I am amazed by the creativity with which animators can work and bring into their works. High-quality animation is typically dominated by French production, where it is really difficult to eliminate films from the competition. However, the ratio of crew members in such films is much higher compared to, for example, domestic animations, where one name sometimes hides several professions, including the director's.

From French production, I would highlight films such as Vidalia with its utopian vision of warring vegetables and On the 8th Day, which features computer animation accurately depicting the structure of waves. Both films will undoubtedly be a feast for the eyes on the big screen. I always appreciate a certain departure from the so-called comfort genre zone. This year, for me, it is clearly represented by the Slovak horror fairytale Dream Rotation and the Polish art film Such Miracles Do Happen, which features animated sacral statues and boneless children.

In the live-acted category, there are a total of 12 student creations. A strong national theme challenging the system can be found in the Belgian film Stateless. The theme of sexual and transgender identity is provided by the Iranian-Swiss movie Son. I was pleasantly surprised by the formal innovative approach in the German-Swiss film Recordings of a Weather Camera.

The genre category with the least competition (a total of 8 films) is student documentaries. Documentary filmmaking can be described as extremely diverse every year in terms of topics. Poisoned Well provides a critical reflection on the state of the country and the ongoing situation of Slovak society towards the LGBTI+ community. I would also like to mention two significant anidocs competing in this category. One is the Polish documentary 49 385, referring to the number tattooed on the director's grandmother's arm during her time in a concentration camp. The other is the award-winning film Rising Above from FAMU, which uniquely depicts the state of a victim after rape.

The theme of the Ukrainian-Russian war still resonates through all genre categories. A powerful example is the film There Are People in the Forest, despite being made with very simple animation. The documentary Wounds introduces us to women who have lost their husbands on the Ukrainian front line. The animated Heart Hug focuses on the state of a beloved dog in the occupied country, while the live-acted The Rooms We Share explores the feelings of a refugee in a foreign land.

This is indeed an incomplete list of significant films represented in this year's Zlín Dog competition. It demonstrates the fundamental fact that student filmmaking is truly unique, full of innovative perspectives and themes that resonate not only with young people but with society as a whole. Let us also acknowledge that preparing for a feature film shoot takes time. However, if we want to convey something the most promptly and effectively, short films are the ideal path for filmmakers. Therefore, I reiterate my opening statement. Let us not underestimate (and certainly not interrupt) the young generation of filmmakers; they truly have something essential to tell us.

The competitive films of Zlín Dog for the year 2024