This year the sixty-first edition of the oldest and largest film festival for children and young people is focusing on the very essence of the film arts. “Even filmmakers of the silent era chose book classics as inspiration for their stories. We are therefore returning to the beginnings of film work, in which the director relied on a great literary masterpiece, a perfect screenplay, and an amazing camera,“says the president of the Zlín Film Festival, Čestmír Vančura.
The author of the visual design of the 61st year, as well as the new logotype of the entire project, is again the designer Zdeněk Macháček from Studio 6.15 in Zlín. This time, the visual is based on a combination of drawings of a book-script and film camera, and thus a playful, colorful digi icon was created, just like last year. "By combining them, a great graphic wedding of Mrs. Book and Mr. Camera, we created a new family that will be happy to show you its children – movies," explains Zdeněk Macháček, who adds: "We dare to believe and we very much want the colorful, positive, film family to bring festival visitors, in fact to all people, something of beauty and joy in this very difficult time."
As literature has been a part of cinematography since its very beginnings, the dramaturgs of the festival have decided to compile a thematic section for this year from films inspired by literary works. “Literature is not at the top of the list of interests for young people right now; one of the basic goals of this section is to bring the young generation closer to completely unknown literary treasures from all over the world through the medium of film. The theme will build on last year's successful format, which focused on film tricks and science and technology," says artistic director Markéta Pášmová, justifying the choice of theme and adds that the year 2021 is also associated with the anniversary of the first film adaptations of literary bestsellers, which changed both the film and reading worlds. "Twenty years ago, the first parts of JK Rowling's Harry Potter and JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series saw the light of day in the film world," added Markéta Pášmová.
In addition to the year's special edition, audiences will of course not miss out on traditional competition films. "Although the coronavirus has also significantly affected the film industry, we already know that we will have enough quality films for the coming year, the selection of which we are currently completing on the online film market in Berlin," assures Markéta Pášmová.
Although last year's grand 60th year did not take place until the autumn due to the unfavorable pandemic situation, and the current situation indicates a repetition of a similar scenario, the organizers of the project decided not to withdraw from the spring date. “We do not intend to leave the May date, because we are convinced that the Zlín Film Festival already has a firm place in the spring in the world's festival calendar and we do not want it to be any different. In addition, the festival is connected with children and family, and that is whyis already an integral part of the Children's Day celebrations on 1 June,“ says executive director Jarmila Záhorová. "We are trying to adapt to the current situation and prepare the festival in two parts to preserve its classic date, but at the same time bring the festival in the fall in the traditional form that our visitors are used to," she added.
In the period from May 28 to June 1, thanks to modern technology in the online realm, audiences from the general public and experts from our country and around the world can look forward to film screenings of successful festival films from last year's 60th festival with a special introduction, animated films. and even a taste of student films of various genres. "The program for film professionals will include, for example, a live online broadcast from the ceremony for the handing out of ECFA awards (European Children's Film Association)," added Markéta Pášmová. Workshops and interactive discussions will be prepared in the spring part to enrich teaching in schools. Virtual tours of behind the scenes activities and into the rich history of the Zlín Film Festival will be available on a special web platform. "If the situation allows, we will also invite visitors to an outdoor cinema, a painting on the sidewalk, a tour of the virtual gallery, and an exhibition of film clapperboards in the spring," outlines Jarmila Záhorová.
The autumn part of the festival has then been planned by the organizers in the usual format, from September 9 to 15. It will include classic screenings of competition and other films and a supporting program corresponding to the main theme, which will bring entertainment and education for the whole family. Also taking place during this period are the traditional auction of the Clapperboard Salon and the MONET + Zlín 2021 Festival Half Marathon, which should take place on Sunday, September 12.
"We also view this year as a rehearsal for next year, when we plan to contribute Zlín's celebration of its 700th anniversary in cooperation with our city and region," concludes Čestmír Vančura.
The Zlín Film Festival – International Film Festival for Children and Youth is the oldest and, currently, largest film festival of its kind in the world. Its prestige increases every year not only in the Czech Republic, but also abroad. This is evidenced by a number of invitations and the participation of ZFF representatives to sit in the juries of international festivals in Russia, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Greece, India, and other countries of the world and the enormous amount of interest in the festival's film dramaturgy.
The festival received an important award at the end of 2019 in Tokyo, Japan at the KINEKO International Children's Film Festival, where it won the KINEKO HONORARY AWARD for its contribution to cinematography for children and youth.
The festival's mission is to present international film productions for children and teenagers, to make them accessible to the child audiences, and offer a high-quality alternative to commonly available audiovisual content. An important aspect of the festival is to educate young audiences through the medium of film, expand their awareness of the outside world, and develop their aesthetic, social, and moral feelings . The aim of the program is to systematically contribute to the development of Czech cinema for children and youth. The organizer of the festival is the company FILMFEST, s.r.o..
You can find out more at https://www.zlinfest.cz/
The organizer of the Zlín Film Festival, FILMFEST, s.r.o., would also like to thank all of our partners and supporters, who were absolutely crucial for making it possible for the 61st festival to happen.
They are:
Co-organizer: statutary city of Zlín
General partner: Kovárna VIVA a.s.
General Media Partner: Czech Television
Financial supporters: Ministry of Culture, Zlín Region, State Fund of Cinematography, Creative Europe - MEDIA;
Main partners: ŠKODA AUTO a.s.; Zlaté jablko, a.s.; GOLDEN APPLE CINEMA, a.s.; KOMA MODULAR s.r.o.
Main media partners: Czech radio; Total Film, DENÍK
Significant partners: Tomas Bata University in Zlín; MONET+,a.s.; SPUR a.s.; PFNonwovens Czech s.r.o.; ABB s.r.o.; POZIMOS, a.s.; IS Produkce s.r.o.; Navláčil stavební firma, s.r.o.; PRIA SYSTEM s.r.o.; Pražská mincovna a.s.; DHL Express (Czech Republic) s.r.o.
