MASKA

This trip into the quaint microcosm Brothers Quay is yet another foray into the world of Polish literature. After the Street of Crocodiles (inspired by Bruno Schulz’s prose) and Inventorium of Traces (a tribute to Jan Potocki), the time is ripe for the allegorical science fiction of Stanislaw Lem. In Maska the masters of puppet animation create a world suspended between the future and the past, full of weathered props and a sultry carnality. We meet the demonic female robot, Duenna, who has to annihilate the rebel threatening the royal throne. However, the seemingly simple plot generates a number of disturbing reflections circulating around the themes of love, identity and power. The film was made in Se-ma-for studio in Łódź, and is accompanied by the composition „De Natura sonoris I” by Krzysztof Penderecki.

  • Genre: Animowany
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Running time: 23
  • Year: 2010

Director: Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay

Script: Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay

DOP: Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay

Music: Krzysztof Penderecki

Editing: Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay

Production company: Se-ma-for, Polish Cultural Institute in London

About the directors:

Stephen Quay

Stephen Quay

Stephen i Timothy Quay were born in 1947 in Norristown. They graduated from the Academy of Art in Philadelphia and the Royal College of Art in London. Their films are collages of puppet animation and live-action. Some of them contain Polish inspirations, e.g. the soundtrack to Nocturna Artificialia (1979) was influenced by Zygmunt Konieczny’s music to Deszcze, the film Ein Brudermord (1982) was illustrated with the music of Krzysztof Penderecki and Lech Jankowski wrote the film score for Street of Crocodiles (1986) based on the prose of Bruno Schulz. In 2003 they received the Dragon of Dragons special prize at the Krakow Film Festival.

Timothy Quay

Timothy Quay

Stephen i Timothy Quay were born in 1947 in Norristown. They graduated from the Academy of Art in Philadelphia and the Royal College of Art in London. Their films are collages of puppet animation and live-action. Some of them contain Polish inspirations, e.g. the soundtrack to Nocturna Artificialia (1979) was influenced by Zygmunt Konieczny’s music to Deszcze, the film Ein Brudermord (1982) was illustrated with the music of Krzysztof Penderecki and Lech Jankowski wrote the film score for Street of Crocodiles (1986) based on the prose of Bruno Schulz. In 2003 they received the Dragon of Dragons special prize at the Krakow Film Festival.
 

At festivals:

Annecy, France, 2011 (competition)

18th KROK International Animated Film Festival, Ukraine, 2011 (competition)

ANIMAGE - III International Animation Festival of Pernambuco, Brazil, 2011 (competition)

6th anim'est international animation film festival, Romania, 2011 (competition)

BANJALUKA 2011 International Animated Film Festival, 2011 (competition)

Curta Cinema 2011 - Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival, Brazylia, 2011 (competition)

Animation Film Festival Animated Dreams, Estonia, 2011 (competition)

Animafest Zagreb 2012, Croatia, 2012 (competition)

5th International Fest Anca Animation Festival, Slovakia, 2012 (competition)

10th Tabor Film Festival, Croatia, 2012 (screening)

Open Cinema Film Festival, Russia, 2012 (competition)

Animaevka International Animated Film Festival, Belarus, 2012 (Crystal Pencil in the Best Experimental Film Cathegory )

Play Poland Film Festival, travelling, 2012 (screening)