The art of animation is not merely a hundred, but several hundred years old. Giovanni Batista della Porta described a projection with the use of a magic lantern as early as 1558 in the work Magiae naturalis published in Naples. Over time, the lanterna magica evolved into a piece of complex machinery, which allowed to display not only a series of static slides but also to move their elements using levers and cranks. Later, other devices capable of creating the illusion of movement began to appear: phenakistoscopes, praxinoscopes, zoetropes, etc. Three years before the first presentation of the Lumière brothers' cinematograph, Charles-Émile Reynaud painted films on paper strips and showed them in his Optical Theatre in the basement of the Musée Grevin in Paris.

In the second edition of ANIMATOR, we pay tribute to the wonderful, often anonymous inventors and pioneers who contributed to the birth of animated film. One of the special attractions of the festival is the American Magic Lantern Theater, thanks to which we can see with our own eyes that animated films existed before the film. We also honor artists who, like Jan Švankmajer, continue the work of the great alchemists and sorcerers of old.

Animator 2009 presents a very wide range of different creative attitudes and inspirations. From Alexander Alexeieff, who invented the pin screen in the 1930s, to modern computer animations. From cameraless creations, made directly on film, whose well-known promoter is Kazimierz Urbański, celebrating his eightieth birthday this year; to crazy cartoons by Bill Plympton. From a completely separate, great poet of cinema that is Patrick Bokanowski, to films for children by Leszek Gałysz. Our special guests are outstanding artists from three continents: North America, Europe and Australia. We are particularly pleased to welcome the Cracow-born father of Israeli and Australian animated film, Yoram Gross.

This year we are also going beyond the sphere of narrowly understood animated film and towards puppet theatre (Companie Miettes de Spectacles), performance (Mariola Brillowska), musical spectacle (Pere Ubu). We will brush up against pataphysics and the Panic Group. We will also listen to the panicky laughter of Roland Topor. And of course, we did not forget about the projections with live music.

Marcin Giżycki, Artistic Director of the Festival

Awarded films

GRAND PRIX / GOLDEN PEGASUS: “Eintritt zum Paradies um 3 € 20 / Entrance to Paradise 3 € 20″ Edith Stauber, Austria 2008

II AWARD OF THE NATIONAL AUDIOVISUAL INSTITUTE / SILVER PEGASUS: “Chainsaw” Dennis Tupicoff, Australia 2007

III AWARD / BRONZE PEGASUS: “Kaasasundinud kohustused / Inalienable duty” Rao Heidmets, Estonia 2008

SPECIAL AWARD FOR MUSIC FILM: “Virus” Robert Proch, Poland 2009

SPECIAL AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S FILM: “Gerald’s Last Day” Justin & Shel Rasch, USA 2009

AUDIENCE AWARD: “La maison en petits cubes” Kunio Kato, Japan 2008

Trailer