Vilnius ISFF presents a special stop-motion animation programme at Vienna Shorts
This year, Vienna Shorts, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, invited Vilnius Short Film Festival and Lago Film Fest to curate short film programmes under the theme “Just A Moment, Please!” dedicated to time in its most transient unit: the moment. All three festivals will showcase films that are paying attention to the seemingly smallest things: whether it’s taking photographs as departure points for moving images, countless individual images coming to life in rapid succession, stills or slow-motion shots capturing a moment or prolonging it to make the most of it. The first screenings will take place at Vienna Shorts on 1-6 June.
Vienna Shorts, Lago Film Fest and the Vilnius Short Film Festival – which together also form one half of the European Network for Film Discourse (The END) – will present to the audiences their takes on the moment and its visualisation in cinema. “Time stands still. Eyes meet. Goosebumps from a touch. A shot shatters the silence. Film history knows many such special moments — when an instant becomes eternity, or eternity shrivels to a tiny flash. It’s about essential things, about paying attention to the seemingly smallest things,” – says Vienna Shorts director and executive Daniel Hadenius-Ebner. His curated programme “Captured Moments” together with Lago Film Fest programme “From an Instant to Other Visions” (curated by Alessandro Del Re and Morena Faverin) and Vilnius ISFF programme “Frame by Frame” (curated by Ieva Šukytė) will be presented at all three festivals.
Vilnius Short Film Festival programme “Frame by Frame” focuses on one of the oldest film techniques since the invention of cinema – stop motion animation. According to programme curator, Vilnius ISFF programmer, film journalist Ieva Šukytė: “Before CGI, stop motion was used for special effects in live-action films such as “A Trip to the Moon” or “King Kong”, and pioneered as a form of art by animators like Ladislaw Starewicz whose influence is present among this programme’s films. While some filmmakers here go back to the early days of animation, others take inspiration from documentary-like filmmaking or movements like “Dogme 95” to present dynamic movement in stop-motion animation. They are not afraid to experiment or to show us a middle-aged naked man in a way that our hearts will melt from the tenderness.”
“Frame by Frame” showcases 6 short films which dive into distinctive styles of stop-motion animation: “Imbued Life” (dir. Ivana Bošnjak, Thomas Johnson, 2019, Croatia), “Daughter” (dir. Daria Kashcheeva, 2019, Czechia), “The Bones” (dir. Cristóbal León, Joaquín Cociña, 2021, Chile), “Luminaris” (dir. Juan Pablo Zaramella, 2011, Argentina), “Piece of Meat” (dir. Huang Junxiang, Jerrold Chong, 2019, Singapore) and “Oh Willy…” (dir. Emma De Swaef, Marc Roels, 2012, Belgium, France, The Netherlands). The screening will take place on 4 June at METRO Kinokulturhaus (Vienna) and will be presented by curator Ieva Šukytė. More information about the films: here.
Vienna Shorts is happening from 1 to 6 June in Vienna, Lago Film Fest will take place from 21 to 29 July in Lago (Italy) and Vilnius Short Film Festival will be held from 17 to 23 January 2024 oin Vilnius and other Lithuanian cities.