RETROSPECTIVE SATIRE, BLASPHEMY, CARNIVAL I: WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

RETROSPEKTIVA SATIRA, BLASFEMIJA, KARNEVAL I: KAKŠEN ČUDOVIT SVET

Wednesday, 24. 9. 2025 at 19.00 / Vetrinj mansion, big hall

Sreda, 24. 9. 2025 ob 19.00 / Vetrinjski dvor, velika dvorana

Curated by Chris Robinson (Ottawa International Animation Festival, Canada) and Anastasiya Verlinska (LINOLEUM International Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival, Kyiv, Ukraine). The programme will be introduced by Anastasiya Verlinska.

Kurirata Chris Robinson (Mednarodni festival animiranega filma v Ottawi, Kanada) in Anastasija Verlinska (Mednarodni festival sodobne animacije in medijske umetnosti LINOLEUM, Kijev, Ukrajina). Program bo predstavila Anastasija Verlinska.

When everything feels out of control – when there's barely a flicker of hope and no clear way to even begin navigating the chaos, let alone fixing it – what’s left? Suicide? Nah, that’s boring. Revolution? Sure, maybe, but history shows that human stupidity is cyclical; we’d just end up right back where we started.
No, no – there’s something better. You laugh. Not just an exhausted laugh teetering on the edge of tears, but a cynical, borderline bitter laugh – one that mocks, scorns, and shreds the hypocrisy, stupidity, and absurdity of the surrounding menace.
It’s getting harder, though. As the world becomes more absurd, satire itself becomes more difficult. How do you parody a reality that already feels like a parody?
Anastasiya Verlinska, Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson is a writer, author, and the Artistic Director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF). A leading voice in animation, he has received numerous honors, including the Animafest Zagreb Award for Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies (2020) and the Prix René Jodoin (2022) for his impact on Canadian animation. Widely regarded as “one of the most stylistically original and provocative experts in the history of animation,” Robinson has authored over 15 books on animation, including Animation Pimp (2007), Time out of Mind (2010), Earmarked for Collision (2022), and Raw Outrage: The Films of Phil Mulloy (2025). His writing blends criticism, memoir, and analysis, making him one of animation’s most distinctive and engaging voices. Robinson co-wrote the award-winning animated short Lipsett Diaries (2010), directed by Theodore Ushev, and wrote the script for Ushev’s upcoming feature, Idling.
Anastasiya Verlinska holds a degree in film studies and has extensive experience in the film and animation industries. She began her career as a project manager at FILM.UA Group, one of the largest film companies in Eastern Europe, where she implemented initiatives to promote both film and animation in Ukraine. In 2014, she joined the LINOLEUM Animation Festival as a program coordinator and became its director in 2016. Beyond the festival, Anastasiya curates screenings of international and Ukrainian animation and leads educational initiatives to support the development of the local animation industry. She is also involved in RES-POL, a project focused on shaping policies for the cultural and creative industries in Ukraine. Additionally, she serves as an expert for the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation and the Ukrainian State Film Agency.