FROM THE FOUNDER TO THE DISCIPLES

On the occasion of the Month of the Czech and Slovak Cultural Intercommunity, BAB introduces a selected collection of films made by the creator and educator Prof. Rudolf Urc and the representatives of the youngest generation at the Studio of Animation at the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava accompanied by the participation of the creators and discussion.  

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Slovak animated film was lucky.

RUDOLF URC  - is a dramaturgy graduate from the Film and Television Faculty in Prague (1959), he worked as a director and a chief dramaturg of documentaries at the Studio of Short Films. Later, he was ´removed´ to the field of animation (1971) and the series of his documentaries were locked in the inglorious period of normalization when he himself put documentaries, to which he had been devoted since his studies, aside for one whole life phase.

Thanks to this step, Slovak animated film acquired a creative personality. Rudolf Urc became the leader of the Slovak animation, the one who inspired and built its way. In the end, the already mentioned inglorious period became the golden era of the Slovak animation. Because the leader was a man of a creative profession, he was able to anticipate, analyse, search for topics and new authors, directors and designers. He supported the development of young creators and he stood by all key personalities in the Slovak animation. His name is connected not only with the development of film animation, but with television animation as well. Apart from his job as a dramaturg, he has made a number of successful animated films and series. He is a tireless author of documentaries as well as a publicist and author of portraits of famous people. He has also written some theoretical-critical analyses and he is the author of the first complex book Animated Film (1980), textbooks written together with Mária Benešová History of Animated Film (1995), monographs on Slovak filmmakers Three Veterans Behind the Camera – Kubal, Kubenko, Kudelka (1998), monographs on Viktor Kubal (2010). His latest publication is Invisible History of Documentarians (2017).

He is the founder of Animated Film at the Department of Animation at the Academy of Perfoming Arts in Bratislava (1993) where he worked as an educator for many years. He was by the birth of the international festival of animated films for children – Biennial of Animation Bratislava (BAB). Despite all the curves in history and difficult conditions in the last decades, the Slovak animated film has been lucky – it has a very good basis where new generations of filmmakers can grow.

On the occasion of the beautiful life jubilee of Rudolf URC – director, scriptwriter, dramaturg, educator and film publicist (1937), we introduce two selected collections of films that become one whole. They represent a valuable contribution of the founder and the continuation of his disciples. 

Katarína Minichová (BAB)

The selected collection of films made by the creator and educator Prof. Rudolf Urc and the representatives of the youngest generation at the Studio of Animation at the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava

1. The selected collection of films on the occasion of the jubilee of Rudolf Urc

RUDOLF URC THE FILMMAKER 1999, 15´

Direction: František Jurišič

A TV documentary portrait from the cycle How we do not know them.

TWO MASTERS 2012, 13´

Direction: Rudolf Urc, Marek Urban     

From the cycle Magic World of Animated Film

A documentary about a friendship of two masters in the field of animation - Viktor Kubal and Břetislav Pojar.

90 LETTERS 1983, 16´

Direction:  Rudolf Urc, Vlastimil Herold    

A documentary about a relationship between two personalities – Slovak humorist Ďuro Čajda and Czech artist Mikoláš Aleš. This film was awarded at the Academia Film Olomouc in 1984.

ORBIS PICTUS 2012, 13´

From the cycle Magic World of Animated Film 

Direction: Rudolf Urc, Marek Urban        

A documentary portrait of the director and animator Vlastimil Herold.

2. Graduation movies made by the students at the Studio of Animation at the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava

STRAWBERRY DAYS 2016, 13´30“

Direction: Eva Sekerešová

Sometimes life can be complicated and especially in the company of crazy fantasy.

CONTRAST 2017, 4´21“

Direction:  Barbora Bárková

Depiction of a love relationship with the help of symbols and colours. At the same time it is a warning that there can not be the one who only takes and the one who only gives.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, GRANDMA 2017, 8´37“

Direction: Agata Bolaňosová

This film is not only a portrait of old age, love and helplessness by saving a loving person, but it also brings the author´s view on getting old as a phenomenon of the modern time. 

AUUUNA 2017, 7´

Direction: Lina Šuková        

A film based on the story about overcoming fear of unknown, it is a story about understanding and rediscovering our relationship with nature. 

SELFISH 2017, 10´20“

Direction:  Lukáš Figeľ

A satirical story about everything what a man can do to achieve his desired goal. Selfishness is here reflected by absurd humour and as a distinctive feature of an individual and today´s society.