Politics of the Imagination: Animations of the Eastern Bloc (1958–1992) + musical intro (Samizdat)

Name: Politics of the Imagination: Animations of the Eastern Bloc (1958–1992) + musical intro (Samizdat)
Released: 2026-10-22
Duration: 1 h 15 min

<div><b>This film contains flashing lights and loud noises which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.</b><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Screening as part of the </b><font color="#0000ee"><b><u><a href="https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/samizdat-eastern-european-film-festival">Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival 2026</a></u></b></font><b>.</b></div></div><b><div><b><br></b></div>This screening will be preceded by a live-captioned short welcome to the festival and a musical introduction by violinist Masha Zhuravlova.</b><br><div><br></div><div>Despite contending with the constraints of political repression, censorship and official cultural doctrine, it would be no exaggeration to say that Eastern European animation during the Soviet era flourished. From the 50s onwards, a number of state-run animation studios produced some of the most innovative animations witnessed in the 20th century – some of which are represented in this fourth instalment of Samizdat animations. From post-apocalyptic visions and classic folk tales to surrealist dreamscapes and allegories of political paranoia, this year offers an eclectic range of shorts showcasing the raw talent and creative ingenuity of animators from the Eastern Bloc.</div><div><br></div><div><div><div>FILMS FEATURED:</div><div><b><i><br></i></b></div><div><b><i>Happy End </i>(<i>Srečen Konec</i>)<i> </i></b>(dir. Vatroslav Mimica, Yugoslavia (Croatia), 1958, 10 mins, Croatian titles w/ English subtitles)</div></div><div><br></div><div>A temporally ambiguous meditation on the apocalypse: are we witnessing the restoration of human civilisation, or an attempt at reversing what is already inevitable?</div></div><div><br></div><div><div><b><i>Labyrinth </i>(<i>Labirynt</i>)<i> </i></b>(dir. Jan Lenica, Poland, 1963, 15 mins, Polish titles w/ English subtitles)</div><div><br></div><div>Using cut-out animation, <i>Labyrinth</i> follows the wanderings of a fin-de-siècle gentleman seemingly trapped in a dreamlike, deserted European city, filled with strange, hybrid monsters, and watched over by an ominous half-man, half-machine figure.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div><b><i>Si Vis Pacem...</i><i> </i></b>(dir. Zofia Oraczewska, Poland, 1975, 7 mins, Polish titles w/ English subtitles)</div><div><br></div><div>In this anti-war satire, two soldiers guarding their respective state borders fool themselves into mobilisation and become locked indefinitely in defensive standby, allowing nature to gradually take over.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div><i style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, You </i><b>(<i>Hé, Te!</i>)</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(dir. Péter Szoboszlay, Hungary, 1976, 7 mins, Hungarian w/ English subtitles)</div><div><br></div></div><div>A man is hounded into a small, confined room, where his mind visibly disintegrates in a series of phantasmagoric episodes, until he, too, joins the litany of persecutory voices.</div><div><br></div><div><div><div><b><i>Wow, A Talking Fish!</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><b>(<i>Ух ты, говорящая рыба!</i>)</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(dir. Robert Sahakyants, USSR (Armenia), 1983, 8 mins, Russian w/ English subtitles)</div><div><br></div></div><div>After encountering a talking fish whose life he spares, an old fisherman is confronted by a shapeshifting sorcerer, leaving the man's life in peril.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div><div><b><i>Golden Bird</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i><b>(<i>Aranymadá</i>)</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(dir. Dóra Keresztes & István Orosz, Hungary, 1987, 14 mins, Hungarian w/ English subtitles)</div><div><br></div></div><div>A young shepherd, Mihály, is sent by a whispering walnut tree on an adventure to defeat a seven-headed dragon and win the heart of a young princess, all the while aided by a golden bird.</div></div><div><br></div><div><div><div><b><i>Incipit Vita Nova</i></b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>(dir. Hardi Volmer, Estonia, 1992, 14 mins, Estonian w/ English subtitles)</div><div><br></div></div><div>After taking out the trash at his wife's behest, a husband is sucked into another dimension by a bin and subjected to a deluge of Western consumerism.</div></div>PT1H15MN/C 182026-10-22

Vatroslav Mimica (<i>Happy End</i> (<i>Srečen Konec</i>)); Jan Lenica (<i>Labyrinth</i> (<i>Labirynt</i>)); Zofia Oraczewska (<i>Si Vis Pacem...</i>); Péter Szoboszlay (<i>Hey

You</i> (<i>Hé,Te!</i>)); Robert Sahakyants (<i>Wow

A Talking Fish!</i> (<i>Ух ты

говорящая рыба!</i>)); Dóra Keresztes & István Orosz (<i>Golden Bird</i> (<i>Aranymadá</i>)); Hardi Volmer (<i>Incipit Vita Nova</i>)

Politics of the Imagination: Animations of the Eastern Bloc (1958–1992) + musical intro (Samizdat)"Politics of the Imagination: Animations of the Eastern Bloc (1958–1992) + musical intro (Samizdat)"

Showtimes

October 22, 6:00 pm