The StopTrik International Film Festival, produced by Pekarna Magdalenske mreže, invites you to three curated animation selections, which will be screened in a pop-up cinema in the garden next to OBRAT – the space of art and participation at Trg Revolucije 9.
This green corner, just by the main bridge, transforms into an open-air cinema during the Lent Festival. Once again this year, with an improvised cinema, we are giving the city a cinema – a cinema it doesn’t yet have.

The open-air screenings include stop-motion and other animation techniques presented in three curated programs.
The first program showcases films from StopTrik’s partner festival O!PLA from Poland.
The second program presents some of the best animations from last year’s StopTrik edition, including the award-winning Madeleine.
The third program, titled Animated Palestine, features three stop-motion films by Palestinian director and animator Ahmad Saleh, as well as an experimental animation by Samira Badran, a Palestinian filmmaker.

The O!PLA selection offers a combination of witty, grotesque, and offbeat animations that will a) make you laugh, and b) trigger an existential crisis.

It consists of animations specially selected for the Lent Festival audience by Piotr Kardas, program director of the O!PLA festival.
O!PLA stands for "Oh! Polish Animation" and has been running since 2013. Its main goal is to promote the works of Polish animators both nationally and internationally, and more broadly to support animation by international artists of various techniques, for audiences of all ages.

Film Descriptions:

• Pineapple Calamari
  Kasia Nalewajka, National Film and Television School, UK, 2014, 9’20”
  Pineapple Calamari dreams of becoming a champion racehorse. He’s cared for by two inseparable women with a special bond.

• Fongopolis
  Joanna Kożuch, PLACKARTNY, Slovakia, 2014, 13’
  A young violinist is about to perform a major solo with the Fongopolis Philharmonic. But on his way, chaos at the train station derails his plans. To catch his train, he must first stop.

• The Curse of the Were-Rat
  Jan Julian Rospond, Birmingham City University, UK, 2015, 6’20”
  In a city shaken by horror, a mysterious shapeshifter terrifies citizens. A gentle cat nearly falls victim, but uncovers the creature's big secret.

• Moms on Fire
  Joanna Rytel, Altofilm AB, Sweden, 2016, 12’
  Two pregnant women sit on a couch, scratching their bellies. Four days to delivery. No masturbation – their clitorises are out of reach, and the boyfriend is away (not that he’s exciting anyway).

• Moth
  Ewa Łuczków, National Film and Television School, UK, 2018, 11’38”
  In a story between reality and fantasy, 8-year-old Mabil escapes her troubled family through vivid dreams and an imaginary moth friend – until she must confront her past.

• Roadkill
  Leszek Mozga, London College of Communication, UK, 2019, 7’48”
  A stop-motion thriller. An alpha deer drives at night and gets into a traffic accident.

• Homebird
  Ewa Smyk, National Film and Television School, UK, 2021, 10’
  A young artist trying to succeed in the big city retreats into nostalgic, rose-colored memories of her rural hometown.