Lightstruck presents THE ALCHEMICAL FURNACE OF JAN ŠVANKMAJER: A Complete Shorts Retrospective in 4 programs.
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Lightstruck is honored to present a complete retrospective of the astonishing short films of the surrealist Czech artist and filmmaker Jan Švankmajer, taking place at 2220 Arts + Archives over the course of four evenings. Working in collaboration with his studio, Athanor, this retrospective occasions the first time all of Mr. Švankmajer’s shorts will screen in Los Angeles in recently remastered copies overseen by the artist himself.
Born in 1934 and directing films since 1964, Švankmajer is one of the single most influential and idiosyncratic artists in animation and cinema history. Often mixing multiple techniques, including stop motion, puppetry, and collage, Švankmajer’s films mine the endlessly spellbinding and uneasy realms of the individual and cultural subconscious, giving life and form to deeply affecting images steeped in his singular imagination and morbid, beguiling wit. Characterized by exquisitely unique and expressive approaches to design, photography, editing, and sound, Švankmajer’s cinematic worlds are intensely engaging, tactile, mesmerizing, and often darkly hilarious.
Each program is designed as a cross-section of Švankmajer’s thrillingly eclectic output, with iconic classics and remarkable obscurities sharing the screen on each evening.
Program 3 will feature:
- *Another Kind of Love* (1988)
- *Punch and Judy* (1966)
- *The Garden* (1968)
- *Flora* (1989)
- *Leonardo’s Diary* (1972)
- *The Castle of Otranto* (1977)
- *The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia* (1990)
- *Darkness, Light, Darkness* (1989)
- *Animated Self-Portrait* (1989) 1m
total = 79m
Programs curated by Zena Grey & Mark Toscano. Notes by Mark Toscano. This series would not have been possible without the wonderful help of Pavla Kallistová from Athanor, and of course Mr. Švankmajer himself.
Presented by Lightstruck
This is an 18+ event
