The Society for Animation Studies Newsletter

Volume 23, Issue 2 Fall 2010

ISSN: 1930-191X

In this Issue: Letter from the Editors SAS Announcements:

● President Report Paul Ward Dear SAS members, ● Membership Report Robert Musburger We are delighted to present to you the final ● SAS 2011 Conference Update newsletter of 2010, which is also our first issue as Romana Turina new co-editors. ● Animation Studies Amy Ratelle & Caroline Ruddell Inside you will find the latest society information, ● McLaren-Lambert Award Winner including reports from our president and treasurer,

information on the Animation Studies journal, and

Conferences and Events an update for the upcoming conference in Athens.

5 ● SAS (Edinburgh) 2010 Photos This issue remembers important events from the Charles daCosta preceding year (SAS 2010, SAIF 2010), and looks 6 ● SIAF (Savannah International toward upcoming events (SIAF in Savannah, SAS in Animation Festival) Update Nancy McClellan Miles Athens). Our review section highlights Eastern European animation, including recent work by 7 ● SAIF (Sidney) 2010 Report Švankmajer, Norstein, and contemporary Czech & Katharine Buljan Slovak animators. 8 ● Center for Visual Music Benefit and Auction Center for Visual Music We hope you are inspired to contribute news and reviews to our next newsletter issue, and we look forward to your submissions! Reviews: Spotlight on Eastern European Animation ● Czech and Slovak Animation DVD Review Sincerely, Eliška Decká Alla Gadassik and Laura Ivins-Hulley ● Švankmajer Film Screening Co-Editors Malcolm Cook ● Yuri Norstein Lecture Alla Gadassik

Membership Information ● SAS Board and Contacts

The articles in the SAS Newsletter are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. Contributions are copyrighted by authors and remaining information is ©2006 Society for Animation Studies. Society for Animation Studies © 2009 SAS Newsletter, v23n2, p.1

President’s Report Paul Ward

As we near the end of 2010 I can reflect on my first year as President. Trying to balance the role with my day job (and have something approaching ‘a life’) has proved difficult at times. Since we attained incorporation and charitable status there are a number of things that the Society has to do in a more formal and standardised manner – finances, membership, the accounting of the annual conference are but three examples. The Board are working towards a standard approach to the annual conference, which will make things easier year-on-year for the organiser/chair, as well as safeguarding the interests of the Society and the hosting institution. Things are taking a little longer than anticipated due to some of my other work, but we will have things in place shortly.

With regard to 2011’s conference, the planning continues and Romana Turina looks forward to welcoming you all to Athens in March. The Call for Papers is included below in this newsletter. Please note that although the conference title suggests a definite focus, this does NOT exclude people from submitting proposals on any and all areas of Animation research. Papers on history, technology, pedagogy and theory more generally are very welcome indeed. The deadline for submissions is the end of November.

I would also remind people that we have several active groups on topics such as Pedagogy, Archives and Industry – as ever, the SAS is built on the activities and energy of its members. Many new members have joined during the year, and we continue to grow and develop. If anyone has any suggestions for how we can move these groups forward, or if you wish to be involved more directly in the business of the Society, please drop me a line. We are always looking for people who can assist with things like processing new (and renewing) members, maintaining our web presence, co-ordinating events . . . the list could be extended. As we grow as a Society, and face new challenges, we need more voluntary muscle!

In the meantime, I wish you all good health and look forward to seeing you in Athens.

Best wishes

Paul Ward Arts University College at Bournemouth President of the Society for Animation Studies

Treasury Update and Membership Report Robert Musburger

PRELIMINARY SAS FALL 2010 FINANCIAL REPORT INCOME Wells Fargo Checking balance 9,074.73 Savings balance 500.00 Wells Fargo Total 10,074.73 Pay Pal US $ balance 8,816.66 UK balance £60.94 CAN balance 102.40 AUS balance 64.74 EUR balance €35.81 Pay Pal total 9,115.71 Edinburgh Conference (To be transferred to Wells Fargo) Conference accounts receivable: Conference Income from Fees $32,638.00 (£20,407.69) Original Startup Fund (from SAS) 1,000.00 Travel Grant Allotment (from SAS) 1,000.00 Total (approx) 34,638.00 Conference accounts payable: Event Expenses $21,472.00 (£20,407.69) Travel Grants Paid Out 1,000.00 Total (approx) 22,472.00 Remaining Balance (approx) $11,156.80 (£6,981.68) EXPENSES Postage/shipping 43.25 LIABILITIES Athens Conference Start-up Fund 1,000.00 TOTAL EQUITY (As of 10/10/10) $19,190.44 $11,156.80

SAS FALL 2010 MEMBERSHIP REPORT (As of 10-1-10) Total 2010 paid members 216 (includes 9 members paid by institutions) Total 2011 paid members (includes 2010 dues) Renewal 1 New 12 Total paid members 229

REMINDER: Dues paid NOW will pay membership through the end of December 2011. Members should renew their membership as soon as possible to avoid the rush that will occur after the first of the year due to the early deadlines for the Athens conference. Conferences presenters must be paid members before the conference.

2011 SAS Conference Information Romana Turina

The Rise of the Creative Economy: Digital Animation, Visual FXS, and Allied Technologies

The 23rd Society for Animation Studies Annual Conference University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus, 18-20 March 2011

CALL FOR PAPERS

The society for Animation Studies invites submissions for proposals for individual papers and panels for its 23rd Annual conference to be held in the Cultural Center of the University of Indianapolis, Athens Campus. The conference will be organized by the Academic Affair Department and the Communication Department of the University of Indianapolis. This year the conference will include presentations, screenings, roundtables, and workshops.

The purpose of this conference is to explore the new skills needed for creating and sustaining a viable digital animation and visual arts industry as a driving force in the creative economy. The conference focuses on the learning needs of educators, students, working professionals, business executives, technology leaders, and public service decision makers in the fields of animation, computer gaming, digital visual arts, media, television, movies, computer science, and information technology. It intends to pay homage to the heritage left to the present by the masters of the past, as well as to investigate the grade in which traditional animation techniques can be beheld and interpreted in view of the future. It springs from the debate on the present state of things in the various sectors of animation studies, and aims to explore their future development in relationship to the current evolution in animation production.

This conference will seek to address a wide breadth of questions, including the following:

1. What are the current and emerging animation technologies?

2. How do visual arts shape stories and communicate through images, music and sound? 3. How does the past drive the present understanding of animation as art and entertainment? 4. How are the animation and visual FXS industries changing? 5. How are business strategies, organizational adaptation, and societal changes being affected by the animation and FXS industries’ evolution? 6. What impact are these factors of change having on society’s ability to develop the required workforce? 7. How does the field of animation contribute to economic development? 8. What are the prospects and promises of the emerging creative economy? Which countries are leading this process? What is happening in the rest of the world? 9. What interdisciplinary research is needed to expand the existing body of knowledge in the field of animation studies? How can this body of knowledge be categorized, organized and disseminated? 10. What educational potential is opened by the evolving sociological perception of animation? Do technology and the entertainment industry play a role in this evolution? 11. Game industry: animation as entertainment, artistic and educational potential at the forefront? 12. Open source: a matter of philosophy and revolution? 13. If history of animation is the ground of the pioneers, what can its history teach us today? 14. Teaching animation: academic acknowledgement of the field and its problems. 15. New technologies in animation: showcase, applications, and new theories.

Conference Format:

The conference will follow five conference tracks that will address one or more of the conference questions:

1. The digital revolution in animation, its applications and its relationships to the traditional techniques. 2. Paradigms for enhancing the dialogue between traditional animation studies and new approaches towards a deeper knowledge of the craft/field. 3. Paradigms for animation as a key player in the creative economy; the power and potential of games and images in education, simulations, and trials. 4. Paradigms for integrating new technologies into life service networks. 5. How are society and culture changing due to the animation and FXS industries’ evolution?

GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSAL (ABSTRACT) SUBMISSION:

Email your submission with the proposal attached to Ms. Romana Turina at [email protected]. Hard copies or CDs should be mailed to Ms. Romana Turina, Conference Coordinator, c/o Academic Affair Department, University of Indianapolis, 9 Ipitou St., GR-105 57 Athens, Greece.

Proposal or abstract should include:

1. Presenter information (name, mailing and e-mail addresses, phone & fax number) 2. Selected format of presentation (oral presentation, roundtable discussion, poster, or workshop) 3. Title and affiliation (institution or organization) 4. Proposal or abstract (in English, not to exceed 300 words, in PDF, or Word, or Office) 5. Biographical data (in English, not to exceed 200 words) 6. Selected track, or four keywords 7. Indication of technological support needed.

Important Note: once accepted, all speakers must be or become members of SAS.

Deadline for submission of proposals: November 30, 2010. Deadline for submission of final paper + presentation material: January 15, 2011.

Format and Length of Presentation: Select a format of presentation for each abstract sent for submission.

• 15 minute presentation (one presenter) • 30 minute presentation (may include one or two presenters) • 90 minute workshop or panel (regardless of the number of presenters) In this case explain how the session will be conducted and the number of presenters.

THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

Participants will enjoy session time at the Athens Cultural Center, adjacent to the University of Indianapolis-Athens and at the foot of the Acropolis. The Conference Programme will be online as soon as it is finalized. Please visit the conference blog for updates: http://sasathens2011.wordpress.com/

The conference fee, 150 euros, will include a free pass to every panel, workshop and screening, lunches (18-20 March 2011), and the Conference Dinner (18 March 2011).

Field trips to visit some sites in Athens will be organized, as well as a one day cruise to three nearby islands (21 March 2011), and a two day Mainland Excursion. Details will be posted online.

Details about accommodations and excursions can be found on the conference blog.

Animation Studies 2010 Update Amy Ratelle and Caroline Ruddell

Volume 6 of Animation Studies is now online. The issue includes papers from last year’s conference in Atlanta. The papers vary in approach and subject matter, indicating once again the broad depth of knowledge and scholarship in our SAS community.

The call for papers after the conference in Edinburgh has come and gone. Nichola is currently in the process of putting together volume 7, so we can look forward to that issue fairly shortly. We have thoroughly enjoyed guest editing this issue and would like to thank the authors and the editorial team for their expertise. We are very glad we could help Nichola out with what turned out to be a wonderful conference.

Please do remember that you can submit past conference papers to the journal. We look forward to our next conference, and to seeing all the members again, as well as seeing the great work that goes on in SAS,

Amy Ratelle & Caroline Ruddell Guest Co-Editors Animation Studies

McLaren-Lambert Award Winner Tom Klein

Alan Cholodenko is the recipient of the 2010 McLaren-Lambart Award for Best Scholarly Article, for his essay, "The Animation of Cinema," which appeared in The Semiotic Review of Books. This article revisits the idea of animation as a precursor to the cinematic form, drawing on research into the works of one of its historical progenitors, Emile Reynaud. This is a deconstructionist text that references related arguments from the author, providing a deeper excavation of the contention that 'cinema is animation' while offering a detailed account of Reynaud's pre-film work. The review committee was comprised of Tom Klein (Chair), Richard Stamp, Chris Carter, Adam de Beer, and Romana Turina. Dr. Cholodenko is former Head of Department and Senior Lecturer in Film and Animation Studies at the University of Sydney, where he now holds the title of Honorary Associate. Congratulations to Alan as this year's recipient.

Society for Animation Studies Conference Animation Evolution, July 2010, Edinburgh Photo Scrapbook

Nichola Dobson organized the 2010 SAS Conference at the Edinburgh College of Art. The event featured a wide range of approaches to animation scholarship, from historiography to aesthetics to emphases on national identity or genre. Below are photos courtesy of our SAS historian, Charles daCosta.

Savannah International Animation Festival – February 2011

Hello SAS!

Hal Miles Imagimation Studios, LLC will sponsor the 2nd ever Savannah International Animation Festival on February 4th and 5th, 2011. It will be held at the Coastal Georgia Center, 305 Fahm Street, Savannah, GA 31401. We are currently accepting entries via Without a Box until December 1st, 2010. Last year we had 143 entries from 15 countries. This year’s entries are already ahead of that number!

The submission categories for the SIAF 2011 are Stop Motion Animation, Computer Animation, Traditional Animation, Experimental Animation, Anime, Television Series Animation, Television Commercials Animation, Web Animation, Gaming Animation, and Student Film.

The Savannah International Animation Festival, SIAF, founded by Hal Miles Imagimation Studios president Hal Miles, is the premiere animation festival of the southeastern United States located in the beautiful jewel of the south, Savannah, Georgia USA. We are proud to showcase the world's best and most magical independent, professional and student animation in the arts and fields of animation. Additionally, the Savannah International Animation Festival allows local students and the general public of all ages to share in international culture, creativity, art and ideas; and to meet and talk to internationally renowned animation professionals. See our website www.savannahinternationalanimationfestival.com for more information—it is being updated daily by our webmaster.

PLEASE mark your calendars and plan to attend! We also would love to have you volunteer in some capacity. There is a sign up page on our website. Our finalized and interactive schedule will be posted December 2011.

Nancy & Hal Miles Directors Savannah International Animation Festival 2010 [email protected] [email protected] P.O. Box 30535 Savannah, Ga. 31410 Tel: (912) 414-3863

SIAF 2010 (Sydney) Conference Report Katharine Buljan All photos courtesy of Professor Charles daCosta©

UTS: SIAF Symposium 2010/Animation Histories and Futures 24 September 2010, The University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

On 24 September 2010 the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia, welcomed its first symposium dedicated exclusively to animation studies. UTS: SIAF Symposium 2010/Animation Histories and Futures was part of the Sydney International Animation Festival (SIAF).

In its inaugural year, the UTS: SIAF Symposium 2010 took place over the course of one full day and attracted a large and attentive audience. It was an intense day filled with dynamic dialogue about a wide range of animation studies topics, in which scholars, animation practitioners and animation enthusiasts participated. The driving force behind this event was Christopher Bowman, Chair of the Symposium and Director of the Master of Animation Program at the UTS. The positive response that the Symposium received indicates a growing interest in an animation studies dialogue in Australia.

Dr. Alan Cholodenko Associate Professor Pierre Floquet

The Symposium featured two prominent keynote speakers, Dr. Alan Cholodenko from the University of Sydney (Australia) and Associate Professor Pierre Floquet from the IPB, Bordeaux University (France). Dr. Cholodenko is a prominent animation studies scholar and the editor of two important books in the field of animation studies: The Illusion of Life: Essays on Animation (1991) and The Illusion of Life II: More Essays on Animation (2007). Dr. Cholodenko’s morning keynote address continued his ongoing

series of investigations into animation and death, parts of which have already been published in the Animation Journal. Associate Professor Pierre Floquet has recently published a book on Tex Avery titled Le Langage Comique de Tex Avery. He is also the editor of CinémAnimationS, published in 2007. Professor Floquet’s afternoon keynote address looked at the relation of live actors to their computer-generated characters, in particular Helena Bonham Carter in Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton (2010) and Sigourney Weaver in James Cameron’s Avatar, made in 2009.

Symposium participants at the opening of the SIAF

A range of very interesting and inspiring papers, addressing a variety of topics, was delivered by speakers. For example, Associate Professor Daniela Sneppova from the University of Western Ontario (Canada) gave a paper on Václav Vorlícek’s work Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (live action/animation made in 1966) and discussed topics including gender representation. Professor Charles daCosta from the Savannah College of Art and Design (United States) delivered a paper titled Framing Invisibility: Selective Positioning of Blacks in the Aardman Studio’s Work. Professor daCosta’s paper looked at the studio’s works such as On Probation (Conversation Pieces) made in 1981. Deborah Szapiro from the University of Technology (Sydney, Australia) presented a paper that looked at animation in the context of urban screening. Alyssa Rothwell from the University of New South Wales (Australia) delivered a paper titled The Aesthetic of ‘the Handmade’ in the Realm of Digital Animation, which was based on her experience as an artist/animator.

Rachel Walls Dylan Davis

Rachel Walls, a Sydney-based animator and researcher, explored the notions of diaspora and apocalypse in animation. Walls’ paper looked at animations such as The Incredibles (2004) by Pixar and Ralph Bakshi’s Fritz the Cat (1972). Dylan Davis from the Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) focused on digital storytelling projects - a joint effort of Swinburne University of Technology Design Centre and Inner South Community Health Services. Assistant Professor Mark Chavez from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) presented a paper titled From Passive to Active: Adaptive Design and Future Visions with Real-Time Simulation in Animation, which explored the idea of interactivity. The paper by Assistant Professor Hannes Rall from the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) focused on the making of digital animated film The Beachboy, stylistically modeled after Asian brush painting and inspired by a Vietnamese legend.

Mark Chavez and Dr Alan Cholodenko

Artist demo screenings were an important part of the event. The symposium attendees had the opportunity to see works like The Lantern Dancers by Sydney-based artists Stephanie Rajalingam and Thomas Marcusson. An interesting combination of beautiful patterns and an origami element contributes to the work’s sophisticated aesthetic. Antarctic Energies by Sydney-based artist Lisa Roberts explores the link between art and science. Roberts’ work has an elegant visual style. Self-Conversion, by Iran-based artist Mehrdad Garousi, is an interesting short animation made in black and white which features a form similar to a fractal. The Symposium further screened an inspirational talk, accompanied by illustrations, given by Lee Whitmore about her current project, which she calls “Unfinished Story.” Whitmore explained that the project is actually a series of stories, all of which “involve imagery of the sea”.1 Whitmore’s mother’s family and its history is an important source of inspiration for her work.2 Sequences from a number of animated works by former students of the Master of Animation Program at the UTS were also featured at the Symposium. A number of these are award-winning works.

The Symposium also screened talks given by Alyssa Rothwell and a group of her students at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, about their work titled The Forest Walk (“Serious Games” project) made for the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (Sydney). The Forest Walk is an interactive work created for elderly patients in order to assist them with their recovery process.3 This highly interesting work has an exquisite visual style.

Dr Alan Cholodenko and Professor Charles daCosta at the SIAF opening

1 Whitmore, Lee, Unfinished Story, Demo edited by Jingjing Ma, UTS: SIAF Symposium 2010, 24 September 2010, The University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. 2 Ibid. 3 The Forest Walk – A Serious Game, Alyssa Rothwell and a group of students at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, Demo, UTS: SIAF Symposium 2010, 24 September 2010, The University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

The Symposium concluded with a stimulating panel session where Mr. Bowman, Dr. Cholodenko and Associate Professor Floquet shared their reflections on the event and engaged in an interesting discussion with the audience.

Panel session Sitting at the table, from left Director of Master of Animation Program at the UTS Christopher Bowman, Dr. Alan Cholodenko, Associate Professor Pierre Floquet

The conclusion of the Symposium was followed by the opening night of the Sydney International Animation Festival. The Festival continued over the next two days and displayed a wide range of animations from around the world. The success of Sydney’s Symposium and Festival shows that the animation making and theorising about animation is embraced here with a great enthusiasm.

The publication of Symposium Proceedings is scheduled for early next year. For enquiries about the Symposium Proceedings please contact [email protected]

Dr. Katharine Buljan holds a PhD from the University of Sydney and two Master degrees (Master of Arts (Hons) from University of Western Sydney and Master of Animation from the University of Technology, Sydney). She lectures sessionally in the Master of Animation Program at the University of Technology, Sydney. Dr. Buljan would like to thank Professor Charles daCosta for giving permission to use his images in this review.

Center for Visual Music – 2010 Benefit and Auction

Paintings and animation drawings on exhibit at CVM's Fischinger Celebration

Center for Visual Music (CVM) held a special Fischinger Celebration and Benefit in Los Angeles on September 23, commemorating the occasion of Elfriede Fischinger (Oskar’s widow)’s 100th Birthday. Co-sponsored by The Goethe Institut and The Fischinger Trust, the event raised funds for the Fischinger preservation, conservation and digitization projects at CVM. A special exhibition of oil paintings and animation drawings by Oskar Fischinger was curated by CVM’s Director Cindy Keefer, plus a screening of home movies of Elfriede. Also on view was an exhibit of photographs, artwork and ephemera celebrating Elfriede’s life, which she dedicated to working with Oskar’s films and legacy.

Elfriede Fischinger in The Hague, Elfriede Fischinger, 1977. Photo by Netherlands with William Moritz and Dwinell Grant Michael Scroggins, c. 1986

Animation items were offered at a silent auction, including signed books, artwork, photographs, and ephemera, many donated by supporters of the event – The Fischinger Trust, film historians Cecile Starr and Robert Haller, artist Scott Draves, and The Bettina Brendel Trust. Items sold included a Mary Ellen Bute film print, an original animation drawing from Oskar Fischinger’s Studie nr. 8; and prints, posters and books. Several animation items remain available and may be purchased to support the Fischinger project, including original artwork by Dwinell Grant and Oskar Fischinger; a Fischinger "Film-Flip" flipbook made by Elfriede; signed animation books including a copy of Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed) signed by Lotte Reiniger; a signed copy of Experimental Animation: Origins of a New Art by Robert Russett and Cecile Starr, and a signed copy of William Moritz’s Fischinger biography Optical Poetry. A number of Oskar’s oil paintings exhibited at the event are still available, and a portion of proceeds from these sales benefit the project.

A small artist’s monograph was published for the event, featuring Elfriede’s textile designs from her Offenbach, Germany art school sketchbook, 1928-1929. Details of many of these items are at www.centerforvisualmusic.org/SilentAuction2010.htm, or contact CVM at cvmaccess (at) gmail.com You can support the preservation or digitization of your favorite Fischinger film at www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Fischinger/FundingNeeds.htm You can also support the Fischinger work by becoming a member of Center for Visual Music, www.centerforvisualmusic.org (visit their website for details). Koda/Triple Study, oil painting by Oskar Fischinger, 1942. (c) Fischinger Trust

Center for Visual Music is a 501(c)3 nonprofit archive dedicated to visual music, experimental animation and avant-garde cinema. CVM preserves, curates, researches and promotes the film, performances and other media of this tradition, together with historical documentation and artwork. CVM's archives include the papers of Oskar and Elfriede Fischinger, and Dr. William Moritz, Oskar's biographer. CVM distributes and licenses Fischinger and many other films to venues worldwide. CVM produced the first Oskar Fischinger DVD, and is restoring films for the second DVD, including never before seen animation tests from the 1940s. CVM maintains Oskar Fischinger research pages at www.centerforvisualmusic.org/Fischinger Further information: Center for Visual Music, Los Angeles, 213-683-1514 or cvmaccess (at) gmail.com

REVIEWS: SPOTLIGHT on EASTEN EUROPEAN ANIMATION

Czech and Slovak Animation Is Not Dead Two New Compilation DVDs Reflect Contemporary Czech and Slovak Animation

By Eliška Decká

Animated film has always been a strong part of Czechoslovak audiovisual tradition. Names like Jan Švankmajer, Jiří Trnka and Břetislav Pojar popularized the classical Czech puppet technique outside of (former) Czechoslovakia and often came back home with an award from some prestigious festival. But these glamorous days of “old masters” seem to belong to the past. After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, many things changed, the animation production system included. The well-established and efficient system of large state-owned film studios that were able to secure a production of animation features was replaced by a number of small independent film studios that have to fight for every short to be finished.

It is not such a surprise then, that many experienced animators think twice before immersing themselves into a new project (e.g director Michaela Pavlatova has recently digressed to live-action feature films. Her last animated short film Carnival of Animals was finished in 2006). However, this kind of “old master vacancy” gives an opportunity for the younger generation of filmmakers (mostly graduated students) to steal a little bit of the local spotlight. And that is exactly what happens in the case of both newly released compilation DVDs: The New Wave of Czech Animation (Anifest Ltd/2009), showcasing new Czech animation, and The Animation Is Not Dead (Anca c.a./2010), focusing on Slovak animation.

If we had to compare, the Slovak compilation is more energetic, younger, and one could say more “punk” than the Czech one. Even the cover of the DVD features a creepy drawing of something what might be a very distant relative of Mickey Mouse and a sketch of an old shepherd (a character generally known from animated bedtime stories that are broadcasted on national television) with a detonator. The DVD consists of a diverse collection of 14 short and very-short animated films that were made mostly by authors in their twenties and early-thirties. We can find among them traditional narrative stories (e.g. About Socks and Love by Michaela Copikova or The String by Michal Meszaros, both with great scripts including interesting symbolic interferences) but also music videos, quick jokes or student projects. The DVD was produced by a non-profit civic association Anca, which also organizes the small independent animation festival Anca Fest. The festival is managed completely on a voluntary basis and takes place at

a train station with one screening room located under the highway bridge. I am mentioning this because the same energy, enthusiasm and love for animation that is characteristic of the festival can be seen in the shorts included in the DVD. For example, the film from Veronika Obertova Viliam can be read as a pure love letter to cut-out animation. Viliam is a small boy whose only passion in life is drawing. He does not have any friends or a dog, so he draws them and cuts them out instead. The original story is closely connected with the technique itself and Obertova constructs a lot of witty jokes around this theme. Fortunately, however, she does not reduce her film just to the funny part and evolves the story in a deeper philosophical way as well.

In comparison to the wild young energy of the Slovak DVD, the Czech one is more classic, traditional, and academic (maybe partly because of its promotional purposes – the DVD is presented on festivals around the world to raise awareness of the contemporary Czech animation). The compilation was selected by Jiří Kubíček, a professor of animation at FAMU in Prague, and contains nine mainly traditional narrative shorts by authors belonging to different generations. The diversity of the compilation stems from the wide scale of animation techniques that are used in the films. There is a paint-on-glass technique (a poetic story Geranium from Lucie Sunkova, referencing with its melancholic atmosphere the work of Caroline Leaf), black and white comic drawing (a very funny short animation The Clod from one of the most outstanding Czech comic book authors Jaromir Plachy) , classic hand-drawn 2D,as well as some examples of computer 3D animation. But it would not be a selection of Czech animation, if classic puppet animation were not included. Václav Švankmajer (son of Jan Švankmajer) evokes in Torchbearer – an ancient myth story – not only his father’s talent for creating an atmosphere of horror, but also Jiří Trnka’s punctuality in capturing the slightest puppet’s movement.

Films like these bring hope that Czech (and Slovak) animation’s best days are still ahead, and yet I would be very careful in calling it a “New Wave”. For, if there were Czech animated shorts regularly shown in international film festivals, why would it be necessary to have a promotional DVD of contemporary Czech animation in a first place? The Slovak compilation’s title “The Animation Is Not Dead” seems to reflect the situation more accurately. It is not (yet) a wave…but there is still a life of animation somewhere out there in Central Europe.

Eliška Děcká is a Film Studies MA student at the Film Studies Department, Charles University in Prague

Jan Švankmajer's Surviving Life (2010) at the London Film Festival

By Malcolm Cook

Jan Švankmajer’s Surviving Life (Přežít svůj život) was shown as part of the London Film Festival in October. Unlike other major festivals, the London Film Festival is non- competitive and offers ordinary filmgoers the opportunity to see films which would otherwise get limited or no release in the UK.

Švankmajer's latest film Surviving Life (Přežít svůj život) begins by including the tools of its own interpretation. The film opens with Švankmajer directly addressing the audience and explaining his intentions in making the film, highlighting the unusual digital photograph cut-out technique and providing an economic rationale for them: photographs, unlike actors, do not require catering or location shoots. The main body of the film provides a further framework for interpretation, as it follows Eugene (Václav Helsus) exploring his recurring dream with a psychoanalyst, and ultimately concludes with a breakthrough in Eugene's understanding of his dream. The audience is thus positioned with a number of interpretive approaches to the film: economic context, Švankmajer's authorship, the cut-out animation technique, and psychoanalysis.

Even before Švankmajer's introduction draws particular attention to it, the economic realities of producing and distributing films of this type are apparent from the title sequence. Surviving Life is a co-production with additional involvement from Czech Television and funding from both national and European film funds to raise a budget in the region of 1.2m GBP/2m USD. With funding heavily dependent on state involvement and tax breaks, one must wonder how filmmakers, especially those less established than Švankmajer, will fare in the current austere economic climate. Little wonder that winning the lottery plays such an important role in the plot of the film.

Considering Švankmajer’s introduction to the film, which draws attention not only to his control over the filmmaking process but also his physical similarity to the protagonist, it is difficult not to read the story autobiographically. Švankmajer is now in his late 70s and Surviving Life is his first film since the death of his wife and long-time collaborator Eva. The introduction to the film features a sequence in which Švankmajer's head opens to reveal a skull, while the film gives prominent attention to Eugene's visits to the doctor, his taking of pills and medicine and his diminished libido. Death, our relationship with the dead and memory are ever present motifs.

The incorporation of digital images by Švankmajer may surprise those familiar with his earlier work, which was intimately concerned with the tactile. However, Surviving Life lies far from the clinical sheen of much of digital imagery. The frequent close-ups of the actors’ mouths highlight every hair, crease of skin and bad dentistry. Tactile objects abound, including a young child's teddy bear and the crocodile skin handbag that Eugene grips in his mouth to induce his dreams. Finally, while the film is lighter in tone

than other Švankmajer films, there remain a number of sequences which produce a visceral reaction in the spectator. The cut-out technique places Surviving Life within a long history of this form, from Lancelot Speed to Lotte Reiniger to South Park. Most notably, it evokes the surreal animations in Monty Python's Flying Circus, produced by Terry Gilliam, who has in turn often cited Švankmajer as an influence.

Psychoanalysis as both an influence on surrealism and method of interpreting it has an established history. The reading of Eugene's dream through his psychoanalytic sessions initially ends the film with the disappointing sense that its meaning has been resolved, as if the film was simply a puzzle directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Yet a closer look suggests that alternate meanings have not been closed off. Early in the analysis, when Dr. Holubová diagnoses Eugene's dreams as purely sexual, she disrobes and offers more than the conventional talking cure, a sequence which calls into question both her competence and the 'reality' of the diegesis. Furthermore, the psychoanalyst features prominently on her wall two animated pictures, one of Freud, the other of Jung. While these figures initially applaud Dr. Holubová's readings they quickly come to blows over their differing opinions of her analysis, highlighting a key rift in psychoanalytic theory.

Considering these four potential theoretical approaches, Surviving Life may seem to be an easily interpretable closed text. Yet it is those elements which escape dominant explanations that draw our attention and suggest that beyond the light tone of this often humorous film there is a depth worth exploring. Through a series of waking and dream sequences, the film features many surreal juxtapositions of elements: female bodies with chicken heads, male bodies with dog heads, snakes with male heads, huge apples rolling through a park, female hands painting their nails across city streets. These elements transform digital photographs into complex animation – not simply the impossible made visible but rather what Suzanne Buchan (drawing on Noël Carroll) describes as noncompossible, or what Sergei Eisenstein labels plasmatic. These elements suggest Švankmajer, regardless of technique, remains a fascinating animator, and that Surviving Life will reward further study.

Malcolm Cook is a Doctoral candidate at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is researching early British animated cartoons prior to the advent of sound cinema.

The Golden Snail: An Evening with Yuri Norstein at the University of Chicago

By Alla Gadassik

Yuri Norstein at the University of Chicago, 2010

I’ve never entertained the possibility of meeting Yuri Norstein, despite my lifelong fascination with his films and my years of reading his lectures, notes, and interviews. The famous Russian animator’s reclusive lifestyle is well-known, and any moments torn away from his busy schedule are spent producing the legendary Overcoat – a film now almost thirty years in the making. At one point I sought Norstein’s permission for image publication, and even that minor point of contact was achieved through three intermediaries over the course of several weeks. I was therefore surprised, to say the least, to discover that Norstein would be giving several talks in the United States, a couple of which would take place in my current city, Chicago.

At the University of Chicago’s Film Studies Center, the overbooked event was attended by a diverse audience, from the city’s many animation enthusiasts to interested members of the Russian community. A rare screening of Tale of Tales on 35mm film was followed by the animator’s remarks on his working methods, creative inspirations (primarily his family), and a defense of traditional animation techniques against what Norstein feels is the awkward “coldness” and geometric rigidity of the computer. I found most of Norstein’s talking points and his responses to audience questions to be broad repetitions of ideas better laid out in his Russian publications or numerous press interviews. Considering the animator’s long history of teaching and lecturing in Russia and Japan, I hoped to hear more specific insights into his layered cut-out methods, rather than musings on animation.

Instead, some of the insights came briefly in the form of minor demonstrations, performed with the aid of a large projector and cut-outs from The Overcoat. Carefully laying out several tiny shapes, painted on clear acetate sheets and connected with

small hinges, Norstein skillfully manipulated the pieces with a small pair of tweezers, until they took on the image of a moving, breathing character.

The most remarkable part of the night was the screening of a section of The Overcoat, offered by Norstein as a preview of the film he plans to complete. The Overcoat, based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol, is a melancholic study of lonely and aging clerk Akaky Akakievich. Very brief sections of the film have been screened around the world, partly in order to help raise funds for the production. The section presented during this particular event was the longest section screened to date, and – thanks to an eager audience member and an old piano standing in the screening space – the silent footage was accompanied by live music, in the best tradition of early cinema.

Norstein’s latest film (in progress) has the densely textured, desaturated and dusty style of his other films (like Tale of Tales or The Heron and the Crane), with stark lighting and foggy sepia tones (a nod to early cinema), as well as a kind of flickering quality that suggests writing by candlelight. The latter precisely echoes the content of the scene we watched, wherein Akaky Akakievich spends his night at home lovingly and carefully copying out manuscripts. Over the course of over twenty minutes, the character enters his home, undresses, has a Spartan meal, and then loses himself in the act of tracing lines and figures. Every movement, every slight change in facial expression conveys a wealth of character emotion.

Most striking to me was the clear parallel between the animator and the protagonist of the film. The film dwells on the aging character’s small frail figure, bent over the dimly lit table, as well as his small stubby fingers, executing minute movements that result in dynamic lines and shapes. As Akaky Akakievich traces out each figure on paper, his imagination fills the curves on the page and he begins to fantasize about living among his letters. Letter by letter, the protagonist painstakingly persists at his craft, delighting as much in the effort as in the finished product. It would be difficult not to see the self- figurative impulse at the heart of his scene, and I cannot help but wonder about the reasons Norstein chose to complete this section of the film first – or at least why he chose it for the presentation. Considering the screening length of this piece and the full arc of Gogol’s story, I can only image that the full finished film would be at least feature- length, every frame a product of barely perceptible and carefully executed movements. I thus began to doubt not only whether the film would ever be truly “finished”, but also whether its completion was really the point.

A brief clip from the event with live translation by Yuri Tsivian can be found on http://filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu/events/2010/golden-snail-evening-yuri-norstein

Alla Gadassik is a PhD Candidate in Screen Cultures (Radio/TV/Film) at Northwestern University in Chicago.

Society for Animation Studies Board and Contact Information

Founded by Dr. Harvey Deneroff in 1987, SAS Membership the Society for Animation Studies (SAS) is Benefits to members include: an international organization dedicated to • Annual conferences. the study of animation history and theory. • Publication of peer-reviewed conference proceedings in the Society's online journal, SAS Board: Animation Studies. Paul Ward, President • Listing in the 'SAS Animation Experts' University College at Bournemouth, UK directory (forthcoming). Richard Leskosky, • The SAS Newsletter, an internal news Secretary/Parliamentarian publication. University of Illinois, Urbana • Members-only discussion list. Robert Musburger, Treasurer Discounts to festivals and other events with Chief Financial Officer participating organizations. Musburger Media Services Regular Membership: Charles daCosta, Historian USD 35.00 / 35.00 Euro Savannah College of Art and Design Student Membership Tom Klein, USD 20.00 / 20.00 Euro Awards and Outreach Committee Chair Institutional Membership Loyola Marymount University Timo Linsenmaier, Webmaster USD 60.00 / 60.00 Euro University of Arts and Design Karlsruhe Please visit the SAS website to learn how to Tim Jones, Website Development become a member. Jeanpaul Goergen Regional Website

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