Zlín - Czechoslovak films for children and youth. This is the main theme of the 58th Zlín Film Festival, which is linked to this year's 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. Complimenting this will be an Austrian movie section reminding us of the fact that our southern neighbor is also celebrating the same anniversary.  At the Congress Center in Zlín today, the organizers of the festival also presented the visual concept of this year's festival, which is based on the playful monkeys of artist Petr Nikl. 

The basic idea follows on last year's visual concept, which was inspired by the character of Pippi Longstocking, who also had a monkey. The original and playful graphic element of letters made up of silhouettes of monkeys has been brought to this year's concept. "After the festival, Pippi returned home to the north. Our monkey stayed all alone in Zlín. That's why we sent for her siblings, another three monkeys.  And these monkeys started having a blast from the get go. While monkeying around, they discovered some paint cans. Of course, they immediately began painting each other. And this is how the colored monkeys ended up dried together out in the full sunlight," says author Zdeněk Macháček from 6.15 Studio on the main idea that led him to create a visual concept for the 58th year of the film festival and adds: "We would like to believe that the strong colorfulness and beautiful drawings of the monkeys in various comic situations – both communication and play – will be welcomed by the festival's audience."

The letter "O" was created by Petr Nikl as one of the cartoon letters called "The Alphabet of Monkeys" for the book Allegory of Monkeys issued by Meander publishing house last year. "We are delighted that Petr Nikl has been nominated for CZECH GRAND DESIGN 2017 for these illustrations, which are now part of our festival's visual concept, and that the book has been nominated for Best Book of the Year award in 2017," says Festival President Čestmír Vančura. 

The main theme of the 58th film festival with regard to the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia will be Czechoslovak film, which will be presented to the audiences in 4 thematic sections. "For example, we will screen a collection of children's films and fairy tales compiled by actors and filmmakers, accompanied by their authentic memories," says Markéta Pášmová. She added that one of the sections would also include internationally renowned screenwriter, programme director of FSB Barrandov, and writer Oto Hofman, who would celebrate his 90th birthday this year. A new documentary by Karel Smyczka, which maps Hofman's work, will be premiered at the festival. In addition, audiences will be able to enjoy the 9 most successful TV series for children and teenagers and the festival will also commemorate the phenomenon of Czechoslovak film music. We also won't neglect the 120th anniversary of the first Czech films. The National Film Archive is preparing a special commentary-accompanied block of Jan Kříženecký's films from the end of the 19th century for the Zlín Film Festival.

The film festival's attention will also focus on Austria, its cinema, and culture. The program will feature nearly 20 Austrian feature films as well as a number of animated and student films. "We have put a small Austrian window on the agenda because our neighbors are celebrating the same anniversary as us; for centuries we were united in one state with them," Markéta Pášmová reminds us. A natural counterpart to traditional European film will be the introduction of a new section dedicated to American independent films for young people.

The celebration of our republic's anniversary will also be reflected in the awards, during which an extraordinary personality will be awarded for their outstanding contribution to the making of works for children and young people. The 58th Zlín Film Festival will see the twenty-second awarding of the Golden Slipper and will be the historical first to award two film stars – Slovak actress Magda Vašáryová and Czech actor Jaromír Hanzlík.

The offering of films is traditionally complemented by a colourful supporting program, which this year will sometimes be tied to the main Czechoslovak theme and to the 120th anniversary of Czech cinema. "One of the new items in the supporting program will be a section called BIOGRAF; this will contain screenings of Czechoslovak silent film comedies from the first decades of the 20th century with piano accompaniment. To capture the period's atmosphere, there will also be historical costumes, a barker, and a concession seller," Jarmila Záhorová informs us.

The supporting program of the festival will also offer an interesting Film Industry section with professional lectures and workshops, a number of theatrical performances, concerts, exhibitions, interactive and benefit programs as well as sports and social events.  

A traditional part of the festival is the auction of artistically rendered film clapperboards. This year's collection of the Clapperboard Salon will be made up of 140 original pieces by leading Czech artists, some of whom have been involved in the project since its very beginning. The 21st Clapperboard Salon starts on March 13, 2018 in Mladá Boleslav. The CLAPPERBOARD TOUR 2018 will have six stops, including an exhibition abroad at the European Parliament in Brussels. It will culminate again with the traditional auction, which will take place on 27 May at the Congress Center in Zlín.

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. 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 contribute to the development of Czech cinema for children and youth.

The 58th festival will take place from 25 May to 2 June, 2018 in Zlín and other cities of the Czech Republic. The main theme will be a Czechoslovak film for children and youth in honor of 100 years of Czech statehood and 120 years of Czechoslovak film. This extensive collection will be complemented by an Austrian film window organized to remind us the identical anniversary of our neighbor, with whom we shared many centuries in the former monarchy. The organizer of the festival is the company FILMFEST, s.r.o..

You can find out more at www.zlinfest.cz. 

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