Short Animations jury at 59th Zlín Film Festival
Altogether 63 short animations for children from 25 countries will compete for the Golden Slipper at 59th Zlín Film Festival – International Film Festival for Children and Youth. Three adult experts will decide together with three children about the best one of all.
Let us introduce the experts in details.
Anthony Wong
USA
Animator and Story Sketch Artist. He grew up in Hong Kong and studied at Cal Arts, USA. He's worked for Disney Feature Animation on animation for many film projects, as well as at Pixar animation studios, where he has been working since 2004. Among others, here he has worked on animation for the successful feature films Ratatouille (2007), Toy Story 3, and Coco (2017), and short promo films.
“The main goal of commercial films is entertainment, but they should carry messages (without being preachy) that make the world a better place for humanity. Film is a powerful media.”
Olya Golubeva
Russia
Director, animator and illustrator. She graduated in animation from the National Film School at IADT Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, and is currently studying illustration at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. She has directed short authorial films The Last Leaf (2016) and Tricky Violin (2017), screened at numerous international festivals. She works as a freelancer and also does book illustrations.
“It is a pity that short animated pieces don't get a longer screen life and mainly can be seen only during festivals. Wouldn’t it be great to have an opportunity to see more of the variety of visual styles and techniques that short animation is offering nowadays.”
Libor Pixa
Czech Republic
Animator and director. He studied animation at FAMU, from which he graduated with the short film Graffitiger (2010), nominated for a student Oscar. He's made the short films Psi-Cho (2005), Dreadful Accidents (Hrůzné náhody, 2007), co-directed the feature film Car Fairy Tales (Autopohádky, 2011), in which he contributed the short story Vincent. He's worked for TV, e.g. The Smallest Elephant in the World (2012) series. He also teaches at FAMU.
“I was a student of Bretislav Pojar and now I teach at the Animation Department at FAMU, so I feel partly responsible for the future of the Czech animation. I think every Czech animator is influenced by this tradition, which is a good thing, but it can also limit you from time to time. Especially in these times now the world of animation is rushing forward. It is often difficult to combine tradition with modernity. But at FAMU I see how a real strong tradition is not about animation techniques or styles. It is about screenplays that are fresh and original. That is why our students are so successful at festivals around the world.”