BANGKOK — A centuries-old fairy tale adapted into puppet animation by a legendary Czech filmmaker to oppose Soviet rule will show for free this weekend as part of a Czech animation festival.
Despite praise as the “Walt Disney of Eastern Europe,” Jiri Trnka was more experimental in style and technique, which helped him clinch several international awards during his 20-year film career.
In “The Emperor’s Nightingale,” adapted from Hans Christian Andersen’s story of a Chinese emperor’s taste for mechanical birdsong, Trnka portrays the post-war years of what was then Czechoslovakia under communist rule in an animated masterpiece that would go on to win awards internationally.
It’s among three of Trnka’s works to screen during Czech Animation Weekend, along with the 1962’s “Cybernetic Grandma” and the “Hand” from 1986, a year before Trnka’s death.
The fest will include works by Jan Svankmajer, Bretislav Pojar, Jiri Barta and Karel Zeman.
For more insights into Czech animation history, feel free to join a discussion led by Japanese film scholar Keiko Sei at 1pm on Sept. 24. The discussion will be in English.
The full schedule is online and admission is free.
Enjoy the weekend of Czech animation from 1pm to 7pm on Sept. 24 and 25 at the Reading Room on Soi Silom 19. It can be reached by a 10-minute walk or brief ride from BTS Surasak.
