The Embassy of Slovakia in Italy has promoted the international conference with the evening of shows "Animation for children behind the Iron Curtain 1945-1989" for Friday 10 May.
Animation is an independent and vital branch of cinematic art with its own peculiarities, codes and conventions. It is worth studying as an art form in itself and as an original tool for analyzing cultural and social phenomena. This is even more appropriate in the case of animation in the former Eastern Bloc countries, where those films were linked to the political and ideological context of their time. Children's cartoons created during the communist regime, in relative isolation (or in competition with) Western animation, above all, the Disney franchise, developed their own inimitable style and managed to blend regional folklore, moral education and advocacy or criticism of the contemporary political ideology that has become part of their cultural identity.
Even today, the love for the most popular characters is passed down from generation to generation and classic cartoons continue to air. Our event aims to bring attention to and discuss the cultural importance of the Eastern European animation school. We are planning a one-day conference and the screening of a selection of cult animations created in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Ukraine between 1945 and 1989, as Professor wrote. Monika Woźniak, Sapienza University of Rome.
This is the program of the event on Friday 10 May:
- 9:00 am - Conference at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Vicolo Doria 2. Int.6 (the conference will be held in English)
- 6.00 pm – Animation show at the Polish Institute of Rome, Via Vittoria Colonna 1 (screenings in original language with Italian subtitles).
