How one recognizes he/she is gifted for drawing, he has a talent, isn´t that limited ability? Must there be any balance between talent and hard work or it can work one without other?

Only other people can recognize if you ´re gifted or not. But also people with limited ability in drawing can make great animated movies. They simply can choose other creative artists. Sometimes it´s for better, if all functions are divided that way. Talent supported by hard work is important, in any kind of human branch, but sometimes it only takes bit more time to do something. In animation it takes about a year to make 7 mins long film .I envy all those painters who can paint 3 pictures during one day.I know, they don´t do it every day, that those 3 pictures are supported well by hard work, but that is not a good ratio.I envy spontaneity to all those painters since we, animators, don´t enjoy as much of it as we would have liked.

"Don´t produce commodity which has to be sold.

There are no money in it, no market..."

You wanted to make animated movies and therefore you went to Academy from which you graduated in 1987.At that time, digital effects were nowhere to be seen, animation was more of  hard work, but maybe more poetical. Didn´t that big technology jump take off the appetite or illusions from animation  for you or on the other hand, you started to enjoy it more with arrival of technology?

Digital technology freed me. I enjoy it big time, I am my own lord, I can do animation, editing, sound, the lot just by myself. Or in case of some important project, I can prepare myself to the point what quality of sound I wasn’t to have in my film with professional sound mixer. Also, as stated earlier, animation takes lots of time and PC sometimes saves your time.

But on other hand, the chance to use computers brought some negative effects, too.Right now, I have a problem to draw with pencil to the paper. With electronic pencil you draw in same ratio onto tablet, but it is completely different feeling, since you can amend your own drawing, change it´s color etc.

Another big difference is attitude with which I can work now. Before that, one had to have detailed idea how he wants to have picture made, what shape and then he could come up to film realization. These days, I start with animation just from pure taste of seeing the move of the picture or how the move of creatures will work for various  music. Sometimes, I even don´t know what I want to do, I just have feeling I am not able to name. With coming time, I can ad more to computer, change color, music, style, swap the scenes and come to the final result this way, which I call “pure improvisation”. From certain point I become to know what I wanna do. Problem comes when I have more variety and you don´t know which one to choose.

What leads a person to want direct and make animated films, where publicity is much smaller, audience is just a fraction of the one with feature films and work is much harder and even more lonely one?

That freedom is awesome. The feature film has all pluses you mentioned above, but always have some producer, some distributor etc, all have their own ideas what the film should be like, they are talking into your work. Moreover, you are responsible for big amount of money which is binding a lot. That freedom in animation- and I talk only about author´s animated film- it is from one simple reason, cos you don´t produce commodity which has to be sold. There are no money in it, no market, only festivals. In animation you can create exactly what you want. It can be personal, it can be experiment. In feature film, experiment can be done only by one very brave producer and that is very very rare. So that kind of movie I feel not so much as a brave act by director but as brave act by producer, his knack for going for it.

Before “take one” in feature film there is whole complex of things that have to be  planned well ahead, script, location, cast, budget, campaign you name it. How does it work in animation film when you decide to make animated movie where you don´t need either big crew or cast or locations?

Simply, you take a sit one day with blank sheet of paper. Or with the computer. That is as simple as that. But also there are more difficult animated films. In puppet film or 3D filmwhere youneed animators and whole crew- these require to have bigger budget before start of realization. So only short animated film is as free as a proverbial bird.

Almost every director wishes to be free and independent and shoot what he/she wants. Do you have much easier work compare to them, when you need only PC, script and one room? Are you independent as an artist or you are tied or restricted by anything?

When I want to be totally independent what I do is, that I take computer and create something I really want to do, just for myself. I call it “ kitchen films” cos they are, at least from quality of sound, really very home- hand -made. I know I degrade my profession by it but I am totally free. My biggest restriction is just myself. Since it´s me who, well ahead, think about that project and with sharp look of jury or teacher I decide, if that is only “ OK film” so there is no point in keep doing so. I also ponder the amount of time spent on it, I don´t want to spend 3 years doing something that is only “ OK film”. What restricts me the most is my indecision. I have fractions of various ideas, tests, animations etc. which I am not able to finish. Maybe that is only because they are no more than pure “OK films.”

"During my work in Wildbrain

they used me for project that we “ different”,

my style had kind of “Balkan flavor”  for them

You started with directing animated movies, then you started to act yourself and then you directed feature film. Is it deliberate or it is natural artistic evolution or you simply needed a change to be outside looking in and get as much experience as possible?

I think, it´s just a natural evolution. I don´t count my “acting” into it since it was just for fun, no work.When you do something for so long, you need new incentive, new impulse, new challenge. After finishing my fourth animated film called “ Repete” I had problem with holding a pencil due to sinew pain, so I thought about how to speed up the work. When I met a guy called Pavel Koutecký, I started to put feature bits into my animation movies and somehow, logically it led me to shooting my first feature story for kids “ Praha očima”.I somehow managed that, but I felt I am not exceptional in feature film. So I returned back to animation. Then I got an offer to direct  feature film “Nevěrné hry” and I couldn´t refuse that.

Well, to direct 10 mins animated film and then full length feature film is big jump. Nevertheless with your second feature film “ Děti noci” you won an award on Karlovy Vary festival for main actors Jiří Mádl and Martha Issová.Was it big step into unknown even for such an experienced director as you are?

Feature film was exhausting, horrible, disgusting, teasing, brilliant, awesome-all in one. Because of that and despite of that I keep on going for that. And then, when it´s finished I go back to my private, inner shell, into the shell of animation. For me the feature film is psychological fight ! With myself ! I try to concentrate, control, see the whole unity, don´t get lost and also be outside looking in, be communicative, make decisions within blink of an eye.That is VERY hard work.

And getting award for actors for “ Děti noci”, that was awesome. We didn´t expect it, on contrary. When I left Karlovy Vary(film was shown at the beginning), thanks to some bad critics I was expecting fiasco so switched off mobile, didn´t read email, anything. Yes, I take everything personally, always to the worse.Then, when production finally found me and Martha and me went to Karlovy Vary, we still didn´t believe it, it´can´t be truth.We thought we overheard, something  like” maybe it was for kids actors” since Jiří and Martha are not very tall. By the way, I admire Jiří Mádl very much for his film “ Pojedeme k moři”but I feel sorry he doesn´t value his award for my film very much.I guess I know why,. Since he feels, he didn´t have to act, he was just himself.

You played in films like “ Pražská 5”, “ Knoflíkáři” or “ Musím tě svést”.Was acting as satisfying for you as directing and do you intend to keep on acting or it was kind of artistic “one- off” to get the feel and idea how does it work “ in front of the camera”?

My acting was just acting. It was a chance which was given to me as a present. It was cool, but it was also at a time when I enjoyed showing off. I became bashful when I started directing the actors. That is very hard work. But I am proud at what characters I played.

American cinematography was always rated as different ball game. Walt Disney made his animation films already before the war. You taught in San Francisco and worked for company Wildbrain. How did this came about? Was it difficult to teach in “ country of unlimited possibilities”  not to be bringing coal to Newcastle?

Teaching was fine, it was something they lacked….that look from people from elsewhere, from Europe and also from the independent movie branch, since  they are mainly taught technique and not directors thinking. Also during my work in Wildbrain they used me for project that we “ different”, my style had kind of “Balkan flavor”  for them, bit exotic since they don´t  differ Europe very much. At the same token  I wasn´t able to be used for normal projects, since if you don´t live there, you don´t get the feel which the clients requires. If you don´t live there you don´t have a clue what he/she talks about in certain terms. 

You teach at film academy. What do you think is the most important for beginners….. fantasy, talent or the ability to master the PC and technology? Can director be a successful artist when he writes good scripts, has fantasy but can´t handle hi- tech devices?

Every college pupil can handle technology and PC. It is advantage, when you can master that yourself, but it´s not a must. Students can handle computers since for them it´s a natural working tool. Decisive  factor is the fantasy, ability to see though things, big creativity and big effort. And of course, deep screenplays, something good films can be made from them.

I like when films have a humor, they are witty, they are sofisticated and keep the distance. It doesn´t mean that they would have to make just cracking jokes. You can use jokes in directors solution. Švankmajer is very witty and he makes damn good, serious and deep films.

Czech feature film is long time in deep crisis. Do you think that conditions for making and presentation of the animated films are better than for those of feature films? Could you give us a clue what is required budget for-say- 15 mins animated film?

You can make animated film at home, at your knees and send the copies to festival in digital form. When you want to make a film in professional way, it of course costs something. Animators, sound mixers, composers, recording of the music, transcriptions, you also need producer and cost are getting bigger and bigger.But I can´t tell you the exact sum.

Czech animated film has long tradition- we can name Jiří Trnka, Jiří Brdečka, Zdeněk Miler, Zdeněk Smetana. Which of the is closest to your heart?

They were all great. Brdečka is the one I love the most. But there are also others, maybe less known.I talk about Václav Bedřich who directed “Maxipes Fík”, I love Pojar and Štěpánek  and their “ Medvědi” and their “ Zahrádka”.I also admire director Jaroslava Havettová, Jiří Barta, Pavel Koutecký.But  the films made by Švankmajer means the most or me.I love all his films. 

Does the drawing of animator constantly evolve or is it once “ finished” and it stays as his trade mark and he is” made” as an artist?

Authors, who have always the same drawing have big advantage, since people like them they  recognize them according to that. I am not so lucky, I must admit but with the same breath I must say I don´t enjoy it and don´t push it too hard. Look at Picasso- there are so many various eras in him and nobody cares. Moreover, handwriting isn´t only in drawing. It is in directing, in what kind of  stuff do you pick up, how do you approach it. I like changing the styles. Each topic requires different angles and creativity and also, you are not always the same so you enjoy the work. And that is very very important. To work one year on the movie you hat it´s for suicide.