Event category: Other screening

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.

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.

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.

Turun Anikistit –
20 years Anniversary Screening

Anikistit are turning 20! Turun Anikistit ry is an active and diverse part of Turku’s art scene, with its core mission being to create and showcase independent and non-commercial animation art. Over the years, Anikistit have created experimental and collaborative artworks that have also gained recognition at international festivals. The association has also organised workshops, animation camps and exhibitions. Perhaps their most visible work in the streets of Turku is the colourful design of the local library bus. TAFF’s anniversary screening presents highlights from the association’s current film production.

All films that have dialogue in a language other than English, are subtitled in English.

Please note that this screening is not suitable for children.

Films in this screening:

Turun Anikistit ry:

English Lessons

Finland, 2008. 20 minutes.

An animated English lesson animated by Turku Anikistit ry. The film recycles a lesson recording from the 1970’s. Adult education.

Turun Anikistit ry:

Commercial Break
(Mainoskatko)

Finland, 2013. 5 minutes.

Animation directors learn the secrets of advertising.

Turun Anikistit ry, Osuuskunta Paperihattu:

100th Anniversary of Finnish Animation. WOW!
(100 vuotta suomalainen animaatio vau!)

Finland, 2014. 2 minutes.

See the history of Finnish Animation in two minutes – narrated by Estonian animation masters ! Animation collectives Turun Anikistit and Paperihattu wishes Finnish Animation a happy anniversary!

Turun Anikistit ry:

Wurmloch

Finland, 2016. 13 minutes.

The film sets in Vienna in 1914, where a war veteran named Otto finds a wormhole to another universe. This sets off a love triangle that escalates to metaphysical dimensions.

Turun Anikistit ry:

Pink Phantom

Finland, 2019. 4 minutes.

An animation of false narrative about a pink hero.