Jan Švankmajer Project On It’s Way To Meeting Goal

Jan Švankmajer Project On It’s Way To Meeting Goal

July 5th, 2016

Jerry Beck

Jan Švankmajer’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, raising funds for the production of the legendary Czech director’s final film, Insects, has one more day to go. He’s met his original goal to start the film – but has now stretched the online campaign to pay for all production costs, and they are almost there. After five long years of development, with the help of his loyal fans and industry supporters worldwide, Švankmajer and his producing partner Jaromir Kallista are hoping to start filming later this summer.

Švankmajer is an internationally acclaimed director, author and pioneer of stop-motion animation, whose artistry has had a lasting impact on the works of Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, David Lynch and the Brothers Quay, among others. A prominent figure of the surrealist movement, Švankmajer has produced more than 30 short and feature-length films.

Insects will be a surreal film whose imagery echoes that of Kafka and the Čapek Brothers. In a local pub in a small town, a troupe of amateur actors rehearse a play by the Čapek Brothers, “The Insect Play.” On a raised platform across the room we see a stage, set for Act II of the play. As the rehearsal progresses, the characters of the play are born and die with no regard to time. The actors slowly become one with them and some of them experience frightening transformations.

Švankmajer states, “The initial $150,000 we raised on Indiegogo will enable us to start shooting with live actors; but we need to raise far more in order to complete the animations and post-production.”

Jan Švankmajer and Terry Gilliam at the Summer Film School in Uherské Hradiště in 2009

Some of the amazing rewards and perks range from scripts and DVDs signed by Švankmajer, early downloads and screenings of Insects, and signed lithographies to one of the insect “actors” in a wooden box, a visit to the film set, producer credits and dinner with Švankmajer himself. Check out the Indiegogo page and consider contributing to what will proabably be a stop-motion masterpiece.

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.