Animated to Life
Classic short films from the past 60 years, themed around our festival theme of Animated to Life.
“How do you give a soul to a puppet? A selection of films spanning from the 1960s to the present day offers a brief but effective lesson on this. It ranges from a landmark work of Czechoslovak political animation to Japanese mythology and the early works of future Oscar winners. Puppets of all kinds, from life-size to organic, experience life across genre boundaries and sometimes even against their will. The expressiveness of these actors, who come in all shapes and sizes, does not always require moving eyes or mouths, but at times they even look at us through the eyes of a living person. In a jubilant climax, a fish sings opera in the voice of Enrico Caruso on its journey from the fish counter to the dinner plate, but this is merely an illusion of life. In real life, the fish has been dead for some time. This encapsulates the work of a puppet animator: to create the illusion of life.”
– Joni Männistö, Artistic Director of TAFF
Duration: 1h 18min
Kino Kilta,
Friday 28.08.2026
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9€ Buy tickets
Films in this screening:
Rao Heidmets:
Papa Carlo Teater
Soviet Union (Estonia), 1988. 10 minutes.
A totalitarian society destroys itself, sooner or later the people cannot take it anymore and then, over papa Carlos a path to the doors of freedom is laid.
Kihachirō Kawamoto:
The Demon
(Oni)
Japan, 1972. 8 minutes.
Two brothers, who are both hunters and live with their mother, go to the mountains to set traps for deer. Suddenly, a demon grabs the younger brother. The older brother shoots an arrow, severing the demon’s arm, which they plan to take home. But they make a grisly discovery on the journey home.
Jiří Trnka:
The Hand
(Ruka)
Czechoslovakia, 1965. 18 minutes.
A delicate and secluded ceramist sees his orderly life turn upside down, when a gigantic hand in a white glove invades his space, demanding that a sculpture of itself is made. When will the hand’s obstinate demands stop?
Emma De Swaef / Marc James Roels:
Oh Willy…
Belgium, 2012. 17 minutes.
Fifty-something Willy, plump and ill-at-ease, returns to the naturist community where he grew up to visit his dying mother. This brings back memories, not all of them pleasant, which build into an emotional crisis when his mother finally passes away.
Suzie Templeton:
Dog
United Kingdom, 2002. 6 minutes.
A young boy and his father live in a dull, lonely house with the shadow of mourning hanging over them both. The boy misses his mother but gets no comfort from his father’s ascertains that she went peacefully. This tragedy is added to by the family dog which is looking increasingly unhealthy.
Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis:
Madame Tutli-Putli
Canada, 2007. 17 minutes.
Exhausted and profoundly melancholic, anachronistic Madame Tutli-Putli wants to board a train. And, surrounded by a lifetime’s worth of personal belongings, she waits patiently. Is she running away from her past?
Carlo Vogele:
Una Furtiva Lagrima
France, 2011. 3 minutes.
The last journey of a fish as it sings its own requiem, from its sale at the fish market all the way into the frying pan.