Swiss director Georges Schwizgebel, Honorary Animac Award 2022
In a year dedicated to the power of the imagination, Animac, the Mostra Internacional de Cinema d’Animació de Catalunya organized by the City Council of Lleida, awards the 2022 Honorary Prize to one of the great masters of contemporary animation, the Swiss Georges Schwizgebel , for his originality and virtuosity that make him a reference within the most expressive and plastic animation.
Schwizgebel will receive the award in Lleida at the inauguration of the 26th edition of Animac on March 3 La Llotja Theater, where his latest film Darwin’s Notebook (2020) will be released in Spain and his award-winning short film Erlkönig (2015) accompanied by live music for the occasion.
In addition, Animac will dedicate a complete retrospective to the Swiss master with his most significant short films on Saturday, March 5, which will be complemented by a masterclass , scheduled for March 6. , where lovers of animated films will delve into the creative universe of Schwizgebel.
“ Imagine a film made by a combined mathematician, musician and visual artist, this could define the work of Schwizgebel. He is a filmmaker, but also a designer and is noted for his taste, exquisite composition and color, as well as the movement and rhythm of his images. In his films, he explores classic themes such as mythology and storytelling, opera librettos, as well as reflections on space, painting, and animation. Music is the main narrator of a cinema with scores by Prokofiev, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninov, Schubert and Liszt, as well as contemporary composers, which catches you with images. within images and loops, in a hypnotic mise en abyme . His latest film for the first time is based on real events, but without losing its unique style. We are very excited about the director’s visit, his masterclass and to be able to show all his films on the big screen, which is where his virtuosity is best appreciated “, highlights Carolina López director of Animac.
GEORGES SCHWIZGEBEL: ONE OF THE GREAT NAMES IN CONTEMPORARY ANIMATION CINEMA
Born in 1944 in Renconvilier, Switzerland, George Schwizgebel has created a very original body of work. His films are marked by a playful approach to storytelling, spectacular formalism and a mix of visuals and music. He combines different animation techniques such as hand drawing and acrylic painting on acetate with a strong experimental intent, with vibrant images and brushstrokes. Explore the expressive use of color, sometimes reminiscent of avant-garde Fauvism.
His first film, Le vol d’Icare (1974), began a career that currently has twenty films, which have won numerous awards at prestigious international festivals (such as Cannes, Annecy, Zagreb). , Hiroshima, Stuttgart, Ottawa and Espinho). His film La course à l’abîme (1992) is regularly cited as one of the best animated films of all time.
Schwizgebel is one of the great names in contemporary animation cinema, recognized with the most prestigious awards. In 2017 he received the Crystal of Honor at the Annecy Festival, in 2018 he was awarded the Honorary Prize of Swiss Cinema, in 2019 he was named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (France) and in 2020 he received the Zagreb Animafest Trajectory Award.
Her short films have won numerous awards, including: La jeune fille et les nuages (2000), Swiss Film Award for Best Short Film; L’homme sans ombre (2004), Regards Juene Award for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival and Special Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the Seminci de Valladolid, and Erlkönig ( 2015), Swiss Cinema Award for Best Animated Film.
SPANISH RELEASE OF HIS LAST FILM, ‘DARWIN’S NOTEBOOK’
Animac will release in Spain Schwizgebel’s latest project, Darwin’s Notebook (2020), a short film about colonialism, tribes and the white supremacist man, which won the last year the Swiss Film Award for Best Animated Film. The film takes place in London in 1830, on the ship Beagle, where the young Charles Darwin embarked. On board he finds three Tierra del Fuego natives returning to their homeland after being educated and anglicized in London.
ANIMAC 2022 ‘FORCES OF IMAGINATION’, ATTENDANCE IN LLEIDA FROM 3 TO 6 MARCH AND ONLINE FROM 4 TO 13 MARCH
The 26th edition of Animac, organized by Lleida City Council in person from 3 to 6 March and in online format from 4 to 13 March, will focus on the power of the imagination . (Forces of Imagination) and will feature the best of animation cinema, with monographic sessions and retrospectives of films that explore the subject of imagination and its expressive force, as well as a careful selection of short and feature films by recently created worldwide, conferences and masterclasses for animation lovers.
After Animac, Georges Schwizgebel will visit the students of ECIB, Barcelona Film School, a collaborating entity of Animac.