In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today

Colour, 35 mm
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Japan, 2009, 75 min
Section: Czech Films 2009-2010

Synopsis

In an attic full of discarded junk, a pretty doll called Buttercup lives in an old trunk together with her friends, the marionette Prince Charming, lazy Teddy Bear and the plasticine creature Schubert. When Buttercup is snatched and taken off to the Land of Evil, her pals set out to rescue her. But as they embark on their trek through the attic, they find themselves in rough terrain full of dangerous traps. Almost a quarter of a century after the award-winning The Pied Piper (1985), artist and film director Jiří Barta presents a feature which once more conjures up the atmosphere and themes of his best works. This "old-fashioned” family fairy tale combines various planes of reality: battered and worn heroes, struggling through a world of unwanted objects, encountering live-action, "realistic” elements, such as a wily tomcat.  The film blends all kinds of artistic and animation techniques, and uses digital compositing during the post-production stage. Barta’s film thus presents an impressive dialogue with the history of animated film and, at the same time, an essay on the passing of time. The film won a Czech Lion for Best Animated Film.

About the director

Jiří Barta (b. 1948, Prague) graduated from the Film and Television Graphics Studio at Prague’s Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (VŠUP, 1975), where he later taught for many years. As an art and film director he uses original combinations of animation techniques in films which have brought him a string of awards both at home and abroad. One of Europe’s most intriguing filmmakers, he tried to get the feature-length project Golem off the ground back in 1987, but without success. Selected filmography: the animated shorts Riddles for a Candy (1978), Disc Jockey (1980) and Project (1981); a parable about human fate The Extinct World of Gloves (1982); an allegory of the natural cycle of life The Ballad of Green Wood (1983); his medium-length take on the medieval legend The Pied Piper (1985); a stylised horror short The Last Robbery (1987); a short satire on consumerism The Club of the Discarded (1989); and his contribution to EXPO 2005, The Czech Year.