Jerzy Armata’s Top Ten
During my second year of law school, I found myself in the Animated Film Studio Kraków, where I watched the first works of Ryszard Czekała, Julian and Józef Antoniszczak, and Jerzy Kucia. These films captivated me completely. Previously, I considered animation to be a genre for children, or a form of simple entertainment, inferior to feature films. Suddenly, it became clear that animation is an art in itself. Hence, my fascination with artists from Kraków began half a century ago and has remained actual up to this day. Respectively, my selection is at large comprised of films made at the SFA on Kanonicza Street.
Jerzy Armata
partner of the screening
partner of the screening
partner of the screening
DATE
April 11, 2024
TIME
9:15 PM
VENUE
Kino Iluzjon Mała Czarna
COPY / OTHERS
Intro
DATE
April 15, 2024
TIME
1:30 PM
VENUE
Kino Iluzjon Mała Czarna
COPY / OTHERS
- Intro
???
– ???
Banner
ENGLISH TITLE
Banner
ORIGINAL TITLE
Sztandar
DIRECTOR
Mirosław Kijowicz
DURATION
7 min
YEAR
1965
COUNTRY
Poland
The protagonist, of this conflicted story, disturbs the arrangements of an important procession. Late and distracted, he arrived with a head full of attractive yet unnecessary material goods, instead of a flag.
Jerzy Armata
The Son
ENGLISH TITLE
The Son
ORIGINAL TITLE
Syn
DIRECTOR
Ryszard Czekała
DURATION
10 min
YEAR
1970
COUNTRY
Poland
Working-class parents decide to sacrifice for their son’s education, despite all hardships, he neglects the family home. His absence is felt, they long for him to come back. When he finally returns to the village, they find it impossible to communicate.
Jerzy Armata
Reflections
ENGLISH TITLE
Reflections
ORIGINAL TITLE
Refleksy
DIRECTOR
Jerzy Kucia
DURATION
6 min
YEAR
1979
COUNTRY
Poland
An insect hatches from a cocoon. Another watches the process. As it manages to break out of its shell, the formerly passive witness makes an unexpected advance. The battle for survival begins at birth…
Jerzy Armata
Zero Option
ENGLISH TITLE
Zero Option
ORIGINAL TITLE
Opcja zerowa
DIRECTOR
Krzysztof Kiwerski
DURATION
6 min
YEAR
1983
COUNTRY
Poland
Roosters are crowing, the sun is rising; another day begins. Men, exercising with increasing force, change into soldiers, who in turn become deadly munitions. The fruits of their labour emerge in rows of service medals pinned to military uniforms.
Jerzy Armata
Franz Kafka
ENGLISH TITLE
Franz Kafka
ORIGINAL TITLE
Franz Kafka
DIRECTOR
Piotr Dumała
DURATION
16 min
YEAR
1991
COUNTRY
Poland
Created with the use of plaster tiles, Dumała’s films draw heavily on literary classics. Inspired by Franz Kafka’s Diaries, this animated, biographical documentary brings forth the writer’s internal life.
Jerzy Armata
Stairs
ENGLISH TITLE
Stairs
ORIGINAL TITLE
Schody
DIRECTOR
Stefan Schabenbeck
DURATION
7 min
YEAR
1968
COUNTRY
Poland
A metaphor for the human condition. A strenuous climb up a set of stairs causes a man to stumble and stagger while he overcomes life’s adversities. Upon reaching the top, he falls from exhaustion and simultaneously becomes just another step.
Jerzy Armata
A Highly Committed Film
ENGLISH TITLE
A Highly Committed Film
ORIGINAL TITLE
Ostry film zaangażowany. Non camera
DIRECTOR
Julian Józef Antonisz
DURATION
7 min
YEAR
1979
COUNTRY
Poland
Absurd and nonsensical humour. The cunning actions of a scheming pensioner lead to the elimination of old, street kiosks covered with posters, which in turn causes a major decline of cultural life in communist Poland.
Jerzy Armata
The Animated Film
ENGLISH TITLE
The Animated Film
ORIGINAL TITLE
Film animowany
DIRECTOR
Alexander Sroczyński
DURATION
19 min
YEAR
1982
COUNTRY
Poland
A multithreaded account of inconceivable adventures lived by a couple lost in a deranged world, filled with paranoia and senselessness. Rooted in grotesque poetics, the story adopts and travesties schemes derived from various film genres.
Jerzy Armata
The Race
ENGLISH TITLE
The Race
ORIGINAL TITLE
Wyścig
DIRECTOR
Marek Serafiński
DURATION
6 min
YEAR
1989
COUNTRY
Poland
A cycling race as metaphor for the pursuit of human ambition. Collective chasing of success and fulfillment, accomplished in a grotesque vision. Rules are dismissed at the very beginning. The goal justifies the means. An illusion of victory awaits at the finish line.
Jerzy Armata
Unfortunately
ENGLISH TITLE
Unfortunately
ORIGINAL TITLE
Niestety
DIRECTOR
Mariusz Wilczyński
DURATION
13 min
YEAR
2004
COUNTRY
Poland
They were happy, honest, compatible, beautiful, just very old. A couple of old angels. One night they were haunted by a vision, in which they became young again. From that slumberous perspective, their long, shared life appeared very different. Unfortunately…
Jerzy Armata
