Jan Svankmajer at his Prague studio in 1994. On the left is one of his ceramic "composite head" sculptures. Photo courtesy of Wendy Jackson.

Jan Svankmajer has been called one of the most distinctive and influential contemporary Czech filmmakers. Since the mid-1960s, his films have shocked, mesmerized, repulsed and delighted audiences, amassing international cult-like followings and inspiring countless other artists and even imitators. His countryman and contemporary, director Milos Forman has described Svankmajer famously with the equation: "Disney plus Buñuel equals Svankmajer." Upon elaboration, Forman's recipe would be expanded to include the influence of Breton, Eisenstein, Fellini, Freud and a handful of Surrealists, probably the very least amount of which would be Disney.

Svankmajer was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1934, coincidentally the very same year that the Czech Surrealist Group was formed, an organization with which he is very involved. In his 63 years in what is now the capitalist Czech Republic, he has seen the come and go of six different political regimes and their corresponding, often conflicting ideologies. While his work is noticeably political in content, Svankmajer is quick to point out that he maintains an inherent commentary and perspective which is not tied to any particular school of thought. There is a universality to his films which speaks to people from all cultures and beliefs.

Svankmajer and his crew filming a scene in Conspirators of Pleasure.

Stylistically, Svankmajer's films are unforgettable in their richness and diversity of technique. Live-action, puppets, collage, drawn animation, montage, clay and object stop-motion animation mingle together in harmony and contrast throughout his body of work, which includes nearly 30 films, ranging in length from 20 seconds to 95 minutes. While a majority of these films have been animated, Svankmajer refuses to be classified as an animated filmmaker, or for that matter, as any particular type of artist. "Animators tend to construct a closed world for themselves, like pigeon fanciers or rabbit breeders." Svankmajer stated in an interview, "I never call myself an animated filmmaker because I am interested not in animation techniques or creating a complete illusion, but in bringing life to everyday objects."

And bring life to everyday objects is exactly what Svankmajer does. One could almost make a dictionary of objects as symbols in Svankmajer's films, something akin to Freud's Interpretation of Dreams. From fish to rolling pins, to keys, stones and wardrobe closets, objects usually trapped in the banality of life take on new meanings as metaphors for emotions and ideas.

Persistence of Vision
While Svankmajer has been subject of much discussion and admiration within the independent film community, public recognition of his accomplishments have been limited. A retrospective of his work and subsequent winning of the Grand Prize for his film Dimensions of Dialogue at the 1983 Annecy Animation Festival is often attributed to the beginning of an international interest in his films.

Fourteen years and twelve films later, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), in its 40th year, decided to honor Svankmajer with The Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award, a new award to recognize lifetime achievement of filmmakers who are "working outside the bounds of traditional filmmaking."

Peter Scarlet, the festival's creative director, presented the award to Svankmajer on May 6, 1997 at the Kabuki Theater in San Francisco. He told the audience that the most hate mail the festival had ever received was concerning the screening of a Svankmajer film a few years ago. While this is not the most likely precedent to the presentation of an award, the packed house in the Kabuki theater indicated a strong local appetite for Svankmajer's films. Director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) also spoke at the presentation, citing the influence Svankmajer has had on his work.