The artwork of our professor, Gábor Ulrich award-winning film and fine artist, called the ’Dune’ was selected for the competition program of the most famous (Oscar qualifier) event of the animation film industry, the 60th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. 

The special, abstract thriller floats between imagination and reality, in which sounds, as witnesses, wash through memories and half-dreams. 

The work was created in the production of Kecskemétfilm and Focusfox, which revive the heritage of the historical Pannonia, and it was produced by Ferenc Mikulás and András Muhi. The extraordinary sound design is the work of Chris Allan. Out of nearly 3,300 nominated works, Dune has been selected for the Animation Without Borders category, which features films that push genre boundaries, and this screening will be the film’s international premiere.

Gábor Ulrich's films have been selected for the competition by film festivals in more than forty countries, including Annecy, Hiroshima, Rio de Janeiro, Kiev, Zagreb, Espinho and Leipzig. He has had fine art exhibitions in many European countries, and his works can be found in foreign and domestic collections. He is a lecturer in our animation master's program, and led the works of the book trailers for Libri Publishing in recent years for example.

 

 

Our mini-interview with Gábor about the news:

How are you now?

I’m just worried right now because I may have pruned one of my favorite trees wrong. And it barely buds.

Your films have been featured in Annecy many times before, so how does it feel to be part of so many contest programs?

Of course, it's still honorable, and I'm glad, really ... It's a completely different movie than before, and maybe I've changed in recent years too. For example, I am more interested in sculpture than film at the moment.

Is this visible in this film too? Or is it just a fact that you are now more concerned with sculpture?

No, not even a little bit. I made this after a dream, and it became pretty much like what I saw in that dream. It’s quite a suicidal venture because sound is especially important in it (here I thank sound designer Chris Allan) and it is only enjoyable with a good quality sound system. Less on phone, tablet, laptop. So far, I’ve been part of a cinematic subculture, now I’ve managed to exclude myself to a sub-sub-subculture.

Do you feel you have boxed yourself even better with this movie?

Yes. But this is of course not a problem, it is a very interesting intellectual adventure.

Do you consider this as a negative thing? Was this a conscious choice ... Or was that what attracted you?

No, I just wanted to make that dream visible to others, I didn’t think any further. I love the work, not results. In a week, I would do everything differently. This too.

Do you feel this way after every creation? Is it a dissatisfaction that never ends, or is it just the result of a surplus of knowledge after a given creation? That you would you approach it differently depending on the end result at the time?

I feel that way after everything, yes. But I always try to incorporate this experience into the next, I don’t improve afterwards.

You mentioned how important sound is and that the real audio experience that a movie provides is not really enjoyable let’s say on a laptop. The fact that the festival will take place online, how much do you think will take away from this cardinal element of the film?

It takes a lot, narrows the possibilities. I trust the jury will not be watching the movies on amet phone.

More information on the official website of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

2020. 04. 20.