Yesterday the rain came down but it didn't dampen the spirits at ANIMAFEST ZAGREB. The two highlights of the day for me were Clare Kitson's talk and the final presentation of the Priit Parn retrospective.
It was fascinating to hear Clare tell about the time she spent in Russia talking with Yuri Norstein for her award winning book YURI NORSTEIN AND TALE OF TALES. The book not only looks at a film that is considered to be one of the greatest animations ever made but also delves deeply into the personal references that Norstein infused into the film.To further her understand of the depth of Eastern block animation she learned Russian which enabled her to talk to Norstein without the aid of an interpreter. As curator of the British National Film Theatre, Clare opened the eyes and mind of British audiences to animation from around the world, especially Russian and Eastern European works that had been unknown until to western Europe.
At the final installment of Priit Parn's retrospective tribute I once again saw films of his that I love such as KARL AND MARILYN and NIGHTS OF THE CARROTS. We also got to view several commercials that he made. His wife, Olga Marchenko joined him on stage to talk about their first collaboration the 2007 I Feel a Lifelong Bullet in the Back of my Head, part of the Estonian poet/animation project. They went on to discuss their new film Life Without Gabriella Ferri which they are going back to Estonia to finish editing.
As a special surprise we were treated to Raphaell Gianelli Meriano's new short documentary Night Without the Pope, which shows Priit and Olga at home on the occasion of his 60th birthday. You get a private glimpse into how these two creative people work as they draw together on a glass window of their house overlooking the Baltic Sea and sing together.
