Get Involved, Internet: Help the great Jan Švankmajer make his final film

By Ignatiy Vishnevetsky | May 25, 2016 | 7:02pm

Aux Features Film

Get Involved, Internet: Help the great Jan Švankmajer make his final film

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Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer—celebrated for his ingenious and nightmarish blend of animation and live action—is pretty sure that he has only movie left in him. At 81, with countless acclaimed shorts and half a dozen features (including Alice and Little Otik) behind him, he’s decided to go out with Insects, an adaptation Karel and Josef Čapek’s satirical 1922 play Pictures From The Insects’ Life. And because Švankmajer’s movies take even longer to finance than they do to make, he’s turning to crowdfunding to raise the remaining portion of the budget, so that he can begin the intensive, years-long process of shooting and editing the film this summer.

Švankmajer has been developing the project since 1970, and he and his longtime producer, Jaromír Kallista, have raised about $1.25 million for the project over the last few years. Their Indiegogo campaign is looking to crowdfund a minimum of $150,000, which would cover the production through the live-action filming process, with an ultimate goal of getting together $400,000, which would cover the entire project through the end. If all goes well, Švankmajer estimates Insects will be completed in December 2018.