The Puppet Master: The Complete Jiri Trnka
"Not a single screening should be missed." – Screen Slate
-
A Midsummer's Nights Dream. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
The Hand. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
The Two Frosts. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
The Emperor's Nightingale. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
The Midnight Adventure. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
Merry Circus. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
The Gingerbread House. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
Romance with Double Bass. Courtesy of Czech National Film Archive.
-
Metamorpheus. Courtesy of Kratky Film Prague.
-
Forester's Song. Courtesy of National Film Archive.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center is pleased to present the U.S.’s first complete retrospective of the works of Czech animation master Jiri Trnka (1912-1969). With 18 short and six feature-length animated films, Trnka was rivaled only by Walt Disney Studios in output. Revered as the pioneer of a remarkable new genre of animation that utilized puppets, Trnka conveyed the drama and psychology of his characters through his figures’ body language, expressive lighting, and camera movement. A prolific artist, beloved book illustrator, and author before making his first movie, Trnka had enormous impact on the development of animation in his country, and he inspired the careers of an entire generation of filmmakers around the globe. This essential series includes two new digital restorations and 11 newly translated works directed by Trnka, as well as a two-program sidebar dedicated to Jiri Brdecka, a screenwriter and animation director whose close friendship with Trnka occasioned a number of short- and feature-film collaborations.
The touring retrospective is produced by Comeback Company. Organized by Irena Kovarova with Florence Almozini and Tyler Wilson. Films provided by the Czech National Film Archive.
Acknowledgments:
Alex Zucker; Martina Raclavska; Marketa Santrochova, Czech Film Center; Michal Bregant, Katerina Fojtova, Tomas Zurek, Michaela Mertova, Czech National Film Archive
Special thanks to the Czech Center New York.
A Tribute to Jiri Brdecka
Along with Trnka, Jiri Brdecka (1917-1982) was one of the founders of Czech animation, who explored its potential as a serious art form as early as the 1940s. Even though he’s best-remembered and revered abroad for his short animated works as a director, Brdecka wrote many screenplays for others’ films, both animated and live action, including the remarkable and immensely popular Western parody Lemonade Joe (1964), based on his eponymous novel. He penned original ideas, scripts, and dialogues for renowned directors such as Martin Fric (The Emperor’s Baker – The Baker’s Emperor), Oldrich Lipsky, Jiri Weiss, Karel Zeman (The Fabulous Baron Munchausen), Vojtech Jasny (Cassandra Cat), and Vera Chytilova (The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun, based on his book of the same name). But his longest-lasting collaboration was with Jiri Trnka, having co-written four of Trnka’s animated shorts and three of his feature-length puppet animated films. This program is a companion to the complete Trnka retrospective, held in homage to their creative partnership and close friendship.
Program organized by Limonadovy Joe s.r.o. in partnership with Czech Centres. Films courtesy of the Czech National Film Archive, Kratky Film Praha a.s., and Rembrandt Films. Thanks to Irena Kovarova/Comeback Company.
Listen to Film Society Editorial Director Michael Koresky discusses The Puppet Master: The Complete Jiri Trnka with programmers Florence Almozini and Irena Kovarova below or on iTunes.
The Puppet Master: The Complete Jiri Trnka
The touring retrospective is produced by Comeback Company. Organized by Irena Kovarova with Florence Almozini and Tyler Wilson. Films provided by the Czech National Film Archive. Acknowledgments: Alex Zucker; Martina Raclavska; Marketa Santrochova, Czech Film Center; Michal Bregant, Katerina Fojtova, Tomas Zurek, Michaela Mertova, Czech National Film Archive. Special thanks to the Czech Center New York.
The Czech Year
U.S. premiere of the new digital restoration · Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 20
Trnka established his reputation as a world-renowned master of puppet animation with his Venice prize-winning first feature, a kinetic visual symphony bursting with music and dance that celebrates the customs and folklore of the Czech people.
The Emperor’s Nightingale
Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 21 at 2:30pm
Trnka’s adaptation of a classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale—about a Chinese emperor ensorcelled by the song of a mechanical nightingale—is an enchanting animated jewel box awash in hallucinatory, storybook imagery. Screening with The Devil’s Mill.
Bayaya
Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 22 at 2:30pm
A young peasant embarks on a quest to free his mother’s soul from purgatory and save three princesses from a host of hydra-headed dragons in this alternately lyrical and rousing medieval-set adventure based on Czech fairy tales. Screening with Song of the Prairie.
Old Czech Legends
U.S. premiere of the new digital restoration · Introduction from Irena Kovarova on April 21 at 9:30pm
A treasure trove of Bohemian myths are brought to life by Trnka’s magical puppet work in this folkloric hymn to the Czech land, history, and people, which features a breathtaking climactic battle sequence worthy of Kurosawa.
The Good Soldier Svejk, Parts I-III
Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 22 at 4:30pm
This riotous anti-authoritarian satire—based on the scathingly funny, hugely influential anti-war classic of Czech literature—charts the exploits of a hapless World War I infantryman with biting, subversive wit. Screening with The Two Frosts.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shorts Program 1: A Star from the Start
Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 20
Trnka proved himself to be a master animator from the very beginning, as evidenced by the formally inventive, wittily offbeat works in this program, which includes the filmmaker’s earliest experiments in the art form: hand-drawn cartoons that play like a distinctly Czech anti-Disney, a modernist tour de force of surrealist invention, and a rapturously beautiful puppet adaptation of Chekhov. The program also serves as a survey of animation techniques employed by the artist throughout his career.
Shorts Program 2: Tales and Collaborations
Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 21
Silly circuses, classic fairy tales, and toy trains come to life through magical stop-motion, puppet, and hand-drawn animation in these charming, family-friendly shorts that showcase Trnka’s fruitful collaborations with fellow artists, animators, and puppeteers.
Shorts Program 3: Mature Mastery
Introduction by Irena Kovarova on April 22
In the 1960s, at the height of his artistic powers, Trnka turned to increasingly dark, surreal, satirical, and politically defiant subject matter. The result was a string of visually innovative, modernist masterpieces that encompass dystopian science fiction, religious parody, and, in his final crowning achievement, an impassioned protest against state censorship.Tribute to Jiri Brdecka
Program organized by Limonadovy Joe s.r.o. in partnership with Czech Centres. Films courtesy of the Czech National Film Archive, Kratky Film Praha a.s., and Rembrandt Films. Thanks to Irena Kovarova/Comeback Company.
Lemonade Joe
Introduction by Irena Kovarova
This relentless and hilarious musical send-up of the American Western written by Brdecka is one of the most popular works in Czech film history, following a soft drink–swigging gunfighter as he tries to steer the sinful residents of Arizona’s Stetson City away from alcohol and toward the health benefits offered in Kolaloka (a parody of Coca-Cola).
Shorts Program: Jiri Brdecka’s Animated Shorts
Introduction by Tereza Brdeckova · Post-Screening Reception
This program of nine animated shorts by Brdecka spans his entire directing career and showcases the wealth of collaborations with important Czech artists and animators, such as Jiri Trnka and Eva Svankmajerova.Tickets now on sale! To begin the purchase process, log in to your account. Don’t have an account? Sign up for one today.
3+ Film Package – Tickets just $10 Members, Students, Seniors, and Persons with Disabilities / $13 General Public.
All Access Pass – See everything in the series for $99.
To purchase tickets to individual films, please click on the “Films” or “Schedule” tabs at the top of this page and then click on your desired films or showtimes.
Not a member? Take advantage of discounted tickets, early access periods, complimentary offers year-round, and more by becoming one today! Join here.
MoviePass is accepted at the Film Society of Lincoln Center for regularly-priced films and series. Admission is not guaranteed. For app-related customer support, contact MoviePass.
