RETROSPECTIVE SATIRE, BLASPHEMY, CARNIVAL II: TWO MIDDLE-AGED GUYS STANDING ON THE BALCONY AND REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE
RETROSPEKTIVA SATIRA, BLASFEMIJA, KARNEVAL I: DVA MOŽAKARJA SREDNJIH LET NA BALKONU RAZGLABLJATA O SMISLU BIVANJA
Thursday, 25. 9. 2025 at 20.30 / Vetrinj mansion, courtyard
Četrtek, 25. 9. 2025 ob 20.30 / Vetrinjski dvor, dvorišče
Curated and introduced by Piotr Kardas (O!PLA Festival of Polish Animation, Poland) and Maciej Misztal (Lublin Film Festival, Poland).
Kurirata Piotr Kardas (Festival O!PLA, Poljska) in Maciej Misztal (Filmski festival v Lublinu, Poljska).
Vsebinske opombe
Trpinčenje / Krutost do živali / Diskriminacija / Eksplicitna spolna vsebina / Uboj žensk / Sovražni govor / Uboj / Psihološko nasilje / Fizično nasilje / Stroboskopsko svetloba, hitra sprememba slike / Samouničevalno vedenje in samomor / Nasilje nad otroki
Content notes
Bullying / Cruelty to animals / Discrimination / Explicit sexual content / Femicide / Hate speech / Killing / Psychological violence / Physical violence / Strobe light, rapid image change / Self-destructive behaviors and suicide / Violence against children
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People say we’re particularly critical, and we enjoy making biting remarks. Supposedly, when we talk to each other, we come off like two grumpy old men from The Muppets. Eventually, we were asked to open our peanut gallery to the wider public. The challenge sounded pretty exciting as the theme for the curated programme was humor.
We agree that a good joke can’t exist without transgression. Humor breaks us free from rigid habits that constrain conventions, and it allows a moment to breathe and feel excitement. Centuries ago, people would suspend conventions during carnival and celebrate transgressions. Animated films are a constant carnival that begins with a screening. At their core, their potential to cross any border is countless and it is precisely this departure from mimesis that creates the distance needed in scenes that would be otherwise too difficult for live-action audiences to accept. We believe that it is especially in animation that one can find the most interesting examples of a filmic transgression.
We started looking for the titles that stayed with us for their explicit, daring, perhaps even bravado-laden ways of overcoming boundaries. At some level, the grotesque, vulgarity, and macabre make us laugh. It begins in childhood, when people break taboos, joke about feces, draw genitalia on walls, mock murders, and so on. This is the way to deal with the complexities of the world, difficult emotions, and healing traumas. Eventually humor can be used as a tool of criticism that exposes everyday pathologies and makes us more reflective. This was a crucial factor in constructing the programme. Reaching for the films from across decades, we noticed the recurrence of certain subjects. It was surprising to realize that some motifs we consider to be contemporary challenges had already appeared in animation long ago. So, we decided to focus specifically on those motifs.
We paid special attention to criticism of toxic masculinity which we find highly relatable. You could even say that our programme is an expression of self-reflexivity in this regard. We’re two middle-aged guys from a generation that was first to seriously work toward changing the traditional model of masculinity; and we both like to think of ourselves as having contributed something to that change. If not, let’s take this screening as a self-parody. We also considered subjects like civilizational hypocrisy and mindless consumerism, which we all easily fall into in our fast-paced times.
This programme comes out of our long hours of talking about the state of the world and challenges of understanding it, conversations we’ve had across different places and circumstances. The authors of animated films are welcome to join the peanut gallery. Let’s take a look together at our reality, laugh at the phenomena that deserve ridicule, and maybe even manage to see ourselves from a distance - the kind of distance that sparks reflection. And if we fail, at least we’ll watch a few truly crazy films. That’s somethin’.
Piotr Kardas, Maciej Misztal
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Piotr Kardas (born June 13, 1984 in Łódź, Poland) – or, program director, and main organizer of the O!PLA Animation Festival (2013-) and the Rising of Lusitania – AnimaDoc Film Festival (2019-). Co-initiator and program director of the CRAFT International Animation Festival in Indonesia (2017-). From 2016 to 2024, co-founder of the Polish edition of the StopTrik International Film Festival in Łódź. From 2010 to 2013, associated with Se-ma-for Film Production (main distributor) and the Se-ma-for Film Foundation (among other things, program director of the Se-Ma-For Film Festival 2010-2011). From 2012 to 2014, he distributed animated films from several Polish animation studios, as part of the Animation Across Borders project. Since 2010, coordinator of the International Animation Day in Łódź, and since 2020, national coordinator. Regular partner of ASIFA. Curator and juror at film festivals in Poland and abroad.
Maciej Misztal is the founder and director of the Lublin Film Festival. He is a curator and active contributor to numerous film culture initiatives in Poland and the region. Misztal graduated from the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School at the University of Silesia, specializing in film and television production management and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw with a master's degree in Culture Studies. He is an award-winning producer of documentary and feature films as well as numerous television programs, including international co-productions. Misztal is the initiator and leader of the Warsaw Short Framing project and a mentor in film workshops for young creators and film educators. Awarded the Medal of the Mayor of the City of Lublin.
1.
Manoman
Simon Cartwright (NFTS)
2015, UK, 10'43''
3.
Little Black Riding Hood / Czarny Kaputrek / Črni Kapko
Piotr Dumała (Studio Małych Form Filmowych Se-Ma-For)
1983, Poland, 05'14''
5.
ZombieWestern: It Came from the West / Zombi vestern: Prišlo je z Zahoda
Tor Fruergaard (HappyFlyFish)
2007, Denmark, 16'47''
6.
Pâté / Pasztet / Pašteta
Łukasz Jedynasty, Zuzanna Staszewska (Rainbow Box Studio)
2014, Poland, 05'30''
7.
Roadkill / Povožena žival
Leszek Mozga (London College of Communication)
2019, UK, Poland, 07'48''
8.
Banquet / Bankiet / Banket
Zofia Oraczewska (Studio Miniatur Filmowych)
1976, Poland, 08'15''
Piotr Kardas (O!PLA Festival of Polish Animation, Poland) and Maciej Misztal (Lublin Film Festival, Poland).
