The winter semester was in the mood of a permanent nesting of the studio space, its spirit and its inhabitants in the new UMPRUM building. The final project was created on the theme of Good News and it’s a space for individual and studio-wide presentations. The exhibition is thus conceived as a small teaser of what is happening inside our studio. We welcome you to the backdrop of our space, where we love to return, feel comfortable and spend our working and leisure time. Sit back, let the good news and original short films over you. Be part of our space, friendly environment and enjoy a few moments of comfort.
And what's new with us in the last six months? For studio students, the past semester has meant the need to spend some time with themselves. Whether it be in the development of original projects or in discussions about psycho-hygiene and balancing free time and work. The semester then resulted in the complete development of an audiovisual work. The development and pre-production phase is crucial for the creation of an animated film. However, the paths of the creative process to achieve the set goals can be different. This is the focus of the series of lectures and consultations. The aim was to explain the importance of dramaturgy, conceptual thinking and precise definition of the directorial intention for oneself as an author, but also for the possible future team and partners. The theme was defined in the sense of authorial self-examination, and during the search for themes the students asked themselves the questions: What am I burning for? What do I live for? What do I want to say and how?
The semester also aimed at open dialogue, sharing and boundary setting in the field of mental health, psychohygiene and work-life balance, which we discussed together not only through moderated meetings. Translating the discussions into authored outputs means preparing a zine in which we celebrate leisure together. You can get a glimpse of it through a mock-up at the exhibition and look forward to its completion and publication in a larger print run during the summer term.
The semester has also brought a number of meetings with alumni and alumnae, and collaborative discussions about what life is like "after school," how to set your own work boundaries, deal with finances, and take care of life and family. After all, the fact that it is possible to live a dignified and satisfying life and pursue creative work is good news too, isn't it?
We have successfully realized a multimedia immersive performance La ligne tremblée pointillée, which was prepared by students in collaboration with the Ensemble terrible group, which consists mainly of students of the composition department of the Prague Academy of Performing Arts - HAMU. Together with FAMU, we made a trip to Zlín to visit animation students as part of the Aniklani animation school cooperation. We enjoyed a plein-air workshop at Rectory Skramníky, we successfully pitched several projects, our films are going to festivals and all this makes us happy. But there have also been challenging moments, dark clouds, sorrows and pains, but it is the open communication, mutual support, good relationships and family atmosphere that have helped us to cope with them, overcome them and live on. And in the end, isn't that the most important good news?
We would like to thank all the people we met during the semester through lectures, workshops and consultations: Michaela Mihalyi, Louise Højgaard Johansen (Sane Cinema), Pavla Baštanová, Terezie Unzeitigová, Pavel Soukup, Marie Urbánková, Pavla Šnajdarová, Filip Pošivač, Josef Lepša, Radim Jurda, Linda Retterová, Barbora Halířová, Jan Pinkava, David Štumpf, Ondřej Slavík & Martin Polák.
