Author: Anton
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.
No Dogs or Italians Allowed
A free open-air screening in the Brinkkala courtyard!
Feature length film.
Director: Alain Ughetto
Year: 2022
Running time: 1h10m
Language: French and Italian, with English subtitles
No Dogs or Italians Allowed (2022)
Alain Ughetto’s award-winning stop-motion gem tells the story of the director’s own family’s Italian emigration in the early 20th century. Constructed from handcrafted puppets, clay and everyday objects, the film brings to life the Ughetto family’s journey across the Alps to France, weaving together personal memories and European history. The result is a warm, imaginative and deeply moving tribute to family, migration and the magic of hand-drawn animation. You’re warmly invited to experience one of the most beloved European animated films of recent years at an open-air screening in the Brinkkala courtyard!
The film is part of the outdoor screening series organised by Turun elokuvakerho (TEK) and Turun Kirjakahvila.
Introducing the Jury –
Competition’s Jury Screening
Selection of films from our Competition’s Jury members.
Valikoima elokuvia festivaalin kilpasarjan tuomaristolta.
Duration: 1h 9min
Films in this screening:
Alexander Gratzer:
In The Living Room
(Im Wohnzimmer)
Austria, 2015. 2 minutes.
A glimpse into the living room – How do shoes react when their owners do not move out of the chair?
Ivana Volda, Thomas Volda:
SIMULACRA
Croatia, 2014. 9 minutes.
Which image is real – the one staring at us from the mirror or the one standing in front of it? In hallways filled with illusions, a simulacrum behind the looking glass, he is trying to find out if he is looking at a stranger or a hidden part of himself.
Anita Killi:
The Hedge of Thorns
(Tornehekken)
Norway, 2001. 13 minutes.
Florian and Malene are best friends, and every day they play together by the stream. But one day the war comes, and the two friends are no longer allowed to play together — they now stand on opposite sides of the conflict.
Alexander Gratzer:
Apfelmus
Austria, 2019. 7 minutes.
Philosophical dialogues between humans and animals about the essential things in life: freedom, existence, and applesauce.
Ivana Bošnjak Volda, Thomas Johnson Volda:
Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse
(Sjeti se kako sam jahala bijelog konja)
Croatia, 2022. 10 minutes.
A waitress goes about her daily routine serving coffee whilst having thoughts of escaping her reality. A costumer is constantly recording and listening back to the surrounding sounds of the café and is completely fixated by this task. Apathy is a condition that leads consciousness into stagnation, but do either of them realise that they are themselves examples of this condition?
Anita Killi:
Angry Man
(Sinna Mann)
Norway, 2009. 20 minutes.
Angry Man is about secrets that shouldn’t be secret. When his pet fish dies, Boj has had enough — and finds the courage in his own imagination to act.
Alexander Gratzer:
In The Upper Room
Hungary / Austria, 2022. 8 minutes.
Every season a young mole visits his blind grandfather, who lives deep underground in a comfortably decorated burrow. As the two grow older their relationship becomes more intense and important questions arise.
Animation Lounge
Lounge for animators and animation lovers to meet, greet and network!
On Saturday, professionals are welcome to attend the Animation Lounge, where, in a relaxed atmosphere, they can learn about the activities of the Finnish Animation Guild, Mediametka, Grafia’s Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland and animation organisation Freimi, and exchange ideas and contacts.
How can professionals in the animation sector be supported, and what sort of activities do the sector’s communities organise? The Animation Lounge brings together professionals working in animation and moving images, as well as representatives from four Finnish industry associations. This relaxed and conversational event offers an opportunity to learn about the associations’ activities and objectives, share experiences and information, and forge new connections amongst professionals in the sector.
Participants in the discussion:
Mika Koskinen / Finnish Animation Guild
Elina Vitkala / Mediametka
Maarja Jullinen / Association of Visual Communication Designers in Finland
Aleksi Mäkelä / Freimi
The event will be held in English.
Junior Workshop
Craft your own puppet with the instructions from Aura of Puppets’ Puppeteer
Maija Westerholm. Open to all!
Maija Westerholm is a puppetry artist and art instructor specialising in children’s culture. She has extensive experience working with diverse groups in schools and children’s cultural centres. Maija regularly leads workshops and weekly activities for children throughout the year. Her approach is gentle, playful and child-centred, with an emphasis on freedom and letting children set their own pace.
In the workshop, children will get to design and make finger puppets or stick figures out of cardboard. They can draw inspiration for their characters from, for example, a character from their favourite film or an animation they’ve just seen or come to watch at TAFF.
Alice
TAFF brings Jan Švankmajer’s cult classic is to Kino Kilta, rarely seen on Finnish screens!
Feature length film.
Director: Jan Švankmajer
Year: 1988
Running time: 1h20m
Language: Czech, with English subtitles
How does Alice in Wonderland look like when it’s directed by one of the most original visionaries in the history of animation?
In collaboration with Czech Centre Stockholm, Turku Animated Film Festival presents Alice (1988), the first feature film by Czech animation master Jan Švankmajer. Rarely screened on the big screen in Finland, this cult classic is a unique blend of live action, stop-motion animation and the dreamlike aesthetics of puppet theatre, and has inspired countless animators and filmmakers around the world.
Based on Lewis Carroll’s classic novel, Alice leads audiences into a Wonderland stranger than ever before, where stuffed animals, puppets and everyday objects come to life. Rather than relying on digital effects, Švankmajer creates his cinematic world through handcrafted sets, mechanical puppets and worn everyday objects, whose tactile materiality and uncanny movement make the film at once fascinating, humorous and deeply unsettling.
More than three decades after its premiere, Alice remains a landmark of surrealist cinema and one of the most remarkable achievements in stop-motion animation. This special screening offers a rare opportunity to experience Švankmajer’s masterpiece on the big screen at Kino Kilta in Turku.
Welcome to Wonderland, where nothing is quite what it seems!
Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds
An award-winning and enchanting fantasy adventure for the whole family to enjoy!
Feature length film.
Director: Benoît Chieux
Year: 2023
Running time: 1h26m
Language: French, with English subtitles
Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds (2023)
Juliette and Carmen discover a secret passage to the Kingdom of the Winds, a fantastical world where they are transformed into cats. To find their way home, they must seek out the mysterious Sirocco, a wizard feared for his power over the winds. Benoît Chieux’s feature film is a vibrant fantasy adventure filled with unforgettable creatures and boundless imagination.
Awards Ceremony
The whole festival week builds up to this event, when the best of TAFF 2026 are awarded and celebrated
Koko festivaaliviikko huipentuu tähän palkintoseremoniaan jossa festivaalin parhaat elokuvat kruunataan
Films in this screening:
Films:
Announced later
(Ilmoitetaan myöhemmin)
Tulossa pian, coming soon.
This screenings films will be announced soon!
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
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.
TAFF PRO Discussion: Animated to Life – The Difference Between Story and Movement
In a discussion moderated by Tatu Pohjavirta, puppeteer and performance artist Ishmael Falke and Claus Gladyszak (NOR), a producer at the Norwegian company Trollfilm, explore two different ways of bringing inanimate material to life: the three-dimensional world of puppets and the layered expression of multiplane work. The discussion will explore the common expressive techniques of these handmade, material-driven art forms and their approaches to addressing both everyday and challenging topics, as a counterpoint to computer-generated and AI-based content.
TAFF Pro Masterclass: Ishmael Falke – Material narratives & objects’ objectives
In the masterclass Material narratives & objects’ objectives, a puppeteer’s perspective on storytelling is offered by puppeteer and performance artist Ishmael Falke, whose international career centers on the stories told by materials and spaces, the redefinition of the body, and the deconstruction and reconstruction of old and familiar stories.
TAFF PRO MASTERCLASS: Anita Killi – MasterGlass
Anita Killi (NOR) has spent decades developing a distinctive multiplane technique — animating on layers of glass to give her poetic, deeply layered films room to be read differently depending on where the viewer stands in life. Her films tackle difficult subjects — domestic violence, incest, war — yet reach audiences from age two upwards, without ever being didactic. In this masterclass, Killi traces her own journey with the technique: from rolls of paper threaded between glass plates in her student days, to Trollfilm current ambition of building one of the world’s most advanced multiplane rigs.
