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29/5 — 4/6/2025
65th INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
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This Year the Festival Will Look Back at 60 Years of Slovak Animation

02. April 2025

In connection with the 60th anniversary of the birth of Slovak animated filmmaking, we’ll present a selection of films during the festival prepared in collaboration with the Slovak Film Institute. There will be a dedicated section for adult audiences focusing on Viktor Kubal, the founder of Slovak animation, and a children’s section featuring other Slovak filmmakers.

Although Studňa lásky (The Well of Love, 1944) by Viktor Kubal is considered the first Slovak animated film, the official start of Slovak animation dates back to 1965. However, the journey to that point was quite complicated.

The early work of Viktor Kubal, the first devotee of Slovak animation, initially received no support from the state film authority. In Czechoslovakia, the Czech regions had already possessed a robust network of artists and studios whose animation was well-regarded abroad. In Slovakia, however, animation was still seen as economically unviable. Aside from Kubal, there were few other enthusiasts. In the 1950s, Vlastimil Herold and Libuše Černá came from the Bratři v Triku studio in Prague to work professionally in Slovakia, but even their advertising animation for the Film Tricks and Graphics Department failed to convince Slovak film authorities to invest in animation.

It was only in the 1960s, thanks to the persistent interest of the Film Tricks and Graphics Department staff, pressure from other supporters, and Viktor Kubal’s success in newsreel film, that systematic production of animated films in Slovakia was finally supported by the state film enterprise,

explained film theorist Eva Šošková. She added that in 1965, there began talks of a separate creative group for animated films.

Its first film, Pingvin, was made unofficially in 1964. This film is also evidence that the tradition of Slovak animation is rooted in newspaper caricature. It was based on a cartoon joke by Ivan Popovič, who from that point on remained devoted to animation. Alongside 2D animation, puppet animation also began to develop in Slovakia by the late 1970s.

Czech animation had the advantage of having a broader creative base, better funding, and deep roots going back before World War II. In contrast, Slovak animation struggled for recognition and support for a long time. Nevertheless, thanks to figures like Viktor Kubal, Ivan Popovič, and others, it carved out its own unique path. Today, Slovak animation is experiencing a renaissance with a new generation of animators. Modern films are often more personal and reflect the creators’ individual voices.

    

As part of the 65th Zlín Film Festival, we will present the following short animated films for adults in the section The World of Viktor Kubal:

  • Mysterious Grandpa (Tajomný dedo, 1944)
  • Entering the Atomic Age (Vstupujeme do doby atómovej, 1963)
  • Earth (Zem, 1966)
  • Chess (Šach, 1974)
  • Cinema (Kino, 1977)
  • Ladder (Rebrík, 1978)
  • Microscope (Mikroskop, 1981)
  • Selection (Selekcia, 1982)
  • Only Child (Jedináčik, 1979)
  • Procedure (Postup, 1968)

  

In the section Janko Hraško and Other Animated Films, we’ll offer children the following short animated films:

  • The Magician and the Florist (Kúzelník a kvetinárka, 1986)
  • Scribble (Mazanica, 1972)
  • Jožinko’s Space Adventure (Jožinkovo vesmírne dobrodružstvo, 1990)
  • Janko Hraško at the Magician’s (Janko Hraško u kúzelníka, 1973)
  • Cock-a-doodle-doo (Ki-ki-ri-kí, 1985)
  • What Happened to Janík on the Road (Čo sa stalo Janíkovi na ceste, 1981)



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