About

“For Svankmajer, surrealism is not an aesthetic movement but a philosophy, an approach to the world that rejects the tyranny of rationalism [and] allows the unconscious to flourish.” (Harvard Film Archive).

Welcome to the surrealist mastery of acclaimed Czech filmmaker, Jan Švankmejer. These five short films will draw you into his intricate, darkly funny and sometimes disturbing genius. The first film, The Last Trick, uses Kuroko style puppets and introduces his signature stop-motion animation. Et Cetera employs cut-out animation to explore human endeavour. Punch and Judy, A.K.A The Coffin House, features a live guinea pig starring alongside the eponymous hand puppets. Jabberwocky is his surreal take on Lewis Carroll’s poem, featuring Victorian toys deconstructed and transformed; he was to make a feature-length interpretation of Alice later. In Dimensions of Dialogue, which includes arresting clay animation, food and everyday objects are literally chewed up and spit out to constantly dissemble and recreate new beings. Švankmejer’s avant-garde film techniques are enhanced by their distinctive sound design, with both effects and music complementing the surreal visuals to create a spectacle for the senses.

Poslední trik pana Schwarcewalldea a pana Edgara (The Last Trick) 1964 1964

12 minutes | Ages 15+ | Contains unsettling imagery

Et cetera 1966

8 minutes | Ages 15+ | Contains unsettling imagery

Rakvičkárna (Punch and Judy, A.K.A The Coffin House) 1966

10 minutes | Ages 15+ | Contains unsettling imagery

Zvahlav aneb Saticky Slameného Huberta (Jabberwocky) 1971

14 minutes | Ages 15+ | Contains unsettling imagery

Možnosti dialogu (Dimensions of Dialogue) 1983

12 minutes | Ages 15+ | Contains unsettling imagery