Puppetry animation gives directors vast powers to create fantasy worlds. In Tony, Shelly, and the Magic Light, Filip Pošivač preserves this creative spirit. Although his debut film is readily suited for children, it offers a wide range of pleasures for adults as well.

We spoke with Pošivač about his debut film, which we’re delighted to screen in Melbourne on Saturday, 12 October, and in Adelaide on Saturday, 9 November.

Puppet animation has a significant place in the Czech Republic. I was interested in your relationship to it and your memory of watching Jiří Barta’s In the Attic or Who Has a Birthday Today (2009). This year’s festival presents the recent restorations of Barta’s The Pied Piper (1986) and The Vanishing World of Gloves (1982).

Filip Pošivač: Jiří Barta was the head of the Animation Studio at the university where I studied. Before the admission process I used to go to him at the school for homework consultations. We saw each other occasionally for about two years. Personally, I respect him very much and I like his films very much – Krysar, Gloves, Attic – these are for me examples of the best elaboration of fantasy and imagination. The creative side of his films is always wonderful.

Can you talk about developing the look of Tony, Shelly and the Magical Light? Did you have any movies or inspirations in mind?

Filip Pošivač: First of all, the script was the biggest inspiration. Jana Šrámková – the scriptwriter writes with great empathy and we communicated a lot during the creation of the script. We met in the same places that we see in the story, for example in the old greenhouse. We were also inspired by technical stuff from other stop motion films – we watched the making of LAIKA studio or old classic pieces of animated cinema.

You are also an illustrator – that is unsurprising! The film has a harmonious and beautiful sense of colour and composition. Did you illustrate your ideas and concepts initially?

Filip Pošivač: Yes, very. I have many sketches, paintings and drawings. I have often worked on pastels, where I wanted to design the colour atmospheres of individual environments in advance. I think I’m very influenced by my art education. In addition, we got along very well with the cinematographer Denisa Buranová, who herself has a sense of aesthetics and is very sensitive.      

We can picture live-action directors on set working with their actors. But what is the process like for a director of animation? There must be some similarities, but it must be incredibly different, too.

Filip Pošivač: I was on set every day. My job was to keep an eye on my directorial and creative vision. During the animation I controlled every movement, every sentence in the lines, it was important for me that the characters communicate the same as in my vision.

I had great teammates – wonderful animators, designers and producers who understood the essence of the story. We often tested everything together first, figured out the technical execution and were able to listen to each other. I never sent any of their ideas away. We discussed everything. The point of view of my colleagues was an important feedback and inspiration for me.

Filip Pošivač

This was your directorial debut. What was the experience like for you overall?

Filip Pošivač: Great experience – it’s fulfilling to work with people on set, with actors, musicians. I’ve never experienced it to such a great extent before. I felt very lucky to be able to do this project and tried to enjoy all parts of it. It was a unique experience also because there was that “debut magic”.  It’s been a few years and it certainly changed me a lot.

You have said that puppet animation is a magical alchemy. But there must be good and bad puppets – or do they all possess that energy? I can’t help but note here that Tony’s glowing light was literally built inside of him – the puppet physically glowed – can you talk a little about that actual process of crafting the puppet of Tony and what his glowing light symbolised for you?

Filip Pošivač: I think all puppets have that magic. But then, of course, it depends on the talent and skill of the animator to give them life and expression. Then there’s the ingenious camera work, editing and music – if you think it through well in advance you can make a very immersive experience – that’s the power of film in general. For me, it’s still fascinating.

The Tony puppet has a real light in it – a light bulb. It’s very funny, because we spent one whole year developing his light, and we tried all sorts of sophisticated ways to light it – nanowires, glow wires, video mapping and so on, but in the end the simplest choice turned out to be the best. The puppet is small, about twenty centimetres tall – the big challenge was to fit the electrical circuitry into it.

How have audiences outside of the Czech Republic responded to the film? And children? What do they think of it? I had read that you had an experience with a foreign producer in the past who found your puppets too “Eastern European, too old school, too stylised”. This leads me to another question: What do you think of the contemporary animation scene abroad?

Filip Pošivač: It’s very nice to find that children in all parts of the world react the same way to film. Children everywhere are equally honest and have no preconceptions. It doesn’t matter if we were in Europe or Japan. The children laughed, were scared and experienced the film the same way everywhere. It happened quite often that children were surprised that what they saw was not digital technology, but wood, clay, paper. I think that’s the challenge for puppet filmmaking in general: to inspire the audience. To show them that we are able to create magical new stories and experiences out of ordinary things.  If we can do that, we can prove to the audience that even someone who doesn’t look cool and great at first impression has the potential to do good things and doesn’t have to be ashamed of themselves.