Spotted …

On the fourth day of the festival we’ve been following the authors and producers who came to Ljubljana to present their films on Animateka…

Marta Magnuska is a Polish film-maker who attends The Polish national Film, Television and Theatre School in Lodz. She is the author of Foreign Body (Ciało obce, 2016), short animation movie, which deals with the theme of self-acceptance and how to form your own identity. Thomas Kneffel is German animator and director of several mixed media projects. He studies at the University of Art and Design in Offenbach. His film RRRING RRRING (2015) discusses the influence of modern technology on individuals in relation to the society. Stefan Michel is a German animation & effects producer. He studied film theory and animation at Animationsinstitut, Film Academy in Baden-Württemberg. He is a producer of Fields of Rape (2016).

Their decision to work with animation techniques has somewhat the same basis. Kneffel started his career of a film-maker with live action movies. However, he was a big fan of animation films, so the decision to take up this challenge wasn’t tough for him. Likewise, Magnuska’s interest for animation originated from her love for drawing. She now attends Faculty of Fine Arts in Lodz and is a student at a special department that is dedicated to animation. On the other hand, Michel’s starts in animation industry started with visiting different film festivals.

Kneffel pointed out that he likes animation so much precisely because of the wide range of possibilities that medium offers to the author. He described himself as a control freak, and animation provides him a chance to control everything that happens on the cinema screen. In contrast, the process of making live action movies is far more unpredictable and therefore complicated. Similar to Knaffel, Magnuska sees her independence as the biggest advantage.

What Michel loves most about animation is going to international film festivals. His plan for the future is to establish a production company and he would like to continue working in this field. Magnuska is yet to graduate, whereas Michel has just finished his studies and will take some time off to decide what he wants to do next. He plans to work as a freelancer.

Last but not least, they all said they enjoy being a part of current edition of Animateka – for them it is cosy and unique, especially because of the special atmosphere.