During 23. IFF Etiuda&Anima, viewers will have the chance to meet the greatest personalities of contemporary artistic animation. The guests of this year's edition are: Michaël Dudok de Wit – an Oscar-winning perfectionist of artful minimalism, Georges Schwizgebel – a virtuoso of shape and colour, Andreas Hykade – a master of simplicity and lightness.

“Self-Portraits of Animation Authors” are one of the most anticipated events of each of the festival's editions. In these interactive performances, artists meet the audience, talk about their work and reveal the secrets of their techniques.

Michaël Dudok de Wit for the first time in Poland at Etiuda&Anima

We are happy that we will be the first in Poland to host this exquisite artist.  Michaël Dudok de Wit will be the guest of the first meeting in the series of “Self-Portraits of Animation Authors”. Born in Netherlands, he is, in the first place, an acclaimed animated film director, but also a lecturer, commerials creator and children books illustrator. In 1994, he was nominated for the Academy Award for his animated short film “The Monk and the Fish” and six years later, he won an Oscar for the Best Animated Short Film with his “Father and Daughter” (2000). “Father and Daughter” was also awarded with BAFTA and Grand Prix at Annecy. Moreover, the famous Studio Ghibli liked the film so much that they, for the first time in their history, offered collaboration to the foreign filmmaker. The effect of this cooperation was the first full-lenght animated film in de Wit's career – “The Red Turtle” (2016).

The meeting with Michaël Dudok de Wit will be accompanied by the screenings of his films: “The Red Turtle”, “Father and Daughter”, “The Aroma of Tea” (2006) – an experimental film painted entirely with tea and “Tom Sweep” (1992), one of the early works of the artist.

Self-Portraits of Animation Authors I – Michaël Dudok de Wit
25th November (Friday), 5:00 pm
Kijów Centrum – Main Room

Andreas Hykade

Our second self-portraitist is Andreas Hykade. Born in Bavaria, Germany, he is the director of animated films such as “The Country Trilogy”, consisting of “We Lived in Grass” (1995), “Ring of Fire” (2000) and “The Runt” (2006), as well as “Love & Theft” (2010) and “Nuggets” (2015). At present, he is working on his first full-length animated film – “Altötting”. Hykade is also known for his music videos for Italian DJ Gigi d´Agostino and German band Die Toten Hosen.  He won many awards in animation and his works were shown in numerous retrospectives, i. a. in Museum of Modern Art in New York.

During the meeting with Andreas Hykade we will watch the following films:  “We Lived in Grass”,  “Ring of Fire”, “The Runt”, “Nuggets”, “Love & Theft”.

Hykade also fulfills himself as an academic lecturer – he has been performing the role of a director of the Institute of Animation at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Germany since 2015 and has been teaching animation at Harvard University in USA since 2008. He conducts workshops and masterclasses as well.

At 23. IFF Etiuda&Anima, Andreas Hykade will receive the Special Golden Dinosaur which is awarded to an outstanding artist turned pedagogue.

Self-Portraits of Animation Authors II – Andreas Hykade
26th November (Saturday), 5:30 pm
Kijów Centrum – Main Room

Georges Schwizgebel

Our third guest will be Georges Schwizgebel from Switzerland. Georges Schwizgebel is among the biggest names in contemporary animation. This well-rounded author of 18 short films has seen his works pick up prizes at Cannes, Annecy, Zagreb, Hiroshima, Stuttgart, Ottawa and Espinho. Two of his films, “78 R.P.M.” (1985) and “The Ride to the Abyss” (1992), rank among the hundred most influential animated films on a list published by the Festival d’Annecy in 2006.

Though he first used rotoscoping (“Perspectives”, 1975: “Off-side”, 1977), Schwizgebel later traded in this tool for a freer approach marked by the gestural application of colour and the frequent use of geometric shapes (“Fugue”, 1998; “The Young Girl and the Clouds”, 2000). His last film “Erlking” (2015) won the last year's edition of ANIMA Competition at Etiuda&Anima.

The meeting with Georges Schwizgebel will be highlighted by the screenings of his films, i. a.: “Erlking”, “Romance”, “Retouches”, “The Subject of the Picture”, “The Ride to the Abyss”.

Self-Portraits of Animation Authors III – Georges Schwizgebel
26th November (Saturday), 7:00 pm
Kijów Centrum – Main Room