Archive of films In the Attic: Who Has a Birthday Today / Na půdě aneb Kdo má dneska narozeniny?

Czech Republic / Slovak Republic / Japan
2009, 75 min

Section: Czech Films 2009-2010
Year: 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.

Contacts

Bio Illusion
Baarova 43/27, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 272 650 336
Fax: +420 222 710 753
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.bioillusion.com

CinemArt, a.s.
Národní 60/28, 111 21, Praha 1
Czech Republic
Tel: +420 224 949 110
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.cinemart.cz

Eurocine
33, ave. des Champs-Elysées, 750 08, Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 422 564 92
Fax: +33 1 422 573 38
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.eurocine.net

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Czech Films 2009-2010

Director:	Jiří Barta
Screenplay:	Jiří Barta, Edgar Dutka
Dir. of Photography:	Ivan Vít
Music:	Michal Pavlíček
Editor:	Lucie Haladová
Producer:	Miloslav Šmídmajer
Production:	Bio Illusion
Cast:	Jiří Lábus, Hlasy / Voices: Lucie Pernetová, Vladimír Javorský, Ivan Trojan, Boris Hybner, Barbora Hrzánová, Naďa Konvalinková
Contact:	Bio Illusion, CinemArt, a.s., Eurocine
Distributor:	CinemArt, a.s.

Guests

Jiří Barta

Film Director, Film Director

Jan Jíra

Distributor

Ivana Košuličová

Film Institution Rep.

Jitka Procházková

Festival Organizer, TV Representative