Opening

Length - 16'41 minutes.
Film was shot on 35 Kodak mm film, using Debrie camera from the year 1934. Colour.
Format 1,85 : 1. Sound - Dolby Digital.
Stop motion - puppet animation.

Synopsis:
ICHTHYS is metaphoric, film parable about the persistence of waiting, hope and fulfilment told in unique and unconventional manner.
The main character is a mature man. He appears in a restaurant which interior resembles sacred building. He is the only client there and is greeted by the waiter with cherub's face. The waiter takes the order and leaves. The client waits for his return... Time goes by making everything grow old. When finally, the ever-young waiter appears with ordered meal, the client looks like he is dead...

"ICHTHYS" - is the Greek word for "fish". It may be an acronym relating the Greek letters ????? to the statement of Christian faith:

( I esous Ch ristos Th eou Y ios S oter meaning "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour").

Crew:
script - Antoni Bankowski,
director, production designer and puppet designer - Marek Skrobecki,
producer - Zbigniew Zmudzki
photography - Mikolaj Jaroszewicz,
animation - Adam Wyrwas,
music - Wojciech Lemanski
editing - Teresa Miziolek,
sound - Michal Kosterkiewicz,
CG effects - Krzysztof Kijak & Piotr Szyngiera
production manager - Elzbieta Stankiewicz,

The film was produced by SE-MA-FOR Film Production Company founded six years ago by filmmakers from bankrupt public company Semafor Film Studio. This Film was co-financed by Film Production Agency (APF). With co-production of Danish company Partyflex .. Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych supported this unique, artistic piece by laboratory work. Synchrolab - laboratory financed the digital copy. Kropka Studio from Cracow made CG effects .

The film touches the eternal issue of human fate, hope, waiting and fullfilment. It shows a individual totally abandoned in his pursuit to fullfil his dreams, without significant influence on his fate...but only seemingly, though this individual asks questions and makes choices, but he depends on other people. This seemingly fatalistic capture of the problem contains some irony on the action level, as well as black and abstract humour or pure nosense, as it happens in real life, but on narrative level - associations and meanings - it contains numerous stylistic nuances and emotional shades evoking associations with Christian symbols and biblical motives. The main character is treated with kindness so he is rather grotesque than tragic. His fate is not told directly but through metaphisical parable, which aims to capture the sense and the aim of human life .These two narrative plots: grotesque-existential and metaphisical-philosopic are parralel and correspond with each other. As if they were involved in animated discourse regarding the fundamental issues, enriching the whole film.

Ichthys's awards

•  First Prize Narrative Short Work in Ottawa International Animation Festival 2005
•  Honorauble Diploma in Cracow Film Festival 2005
•  Sony Audience Award - Animateka - Film Festival in Ljubliana - 2005
•  Bronze Jabberwocky - Etiuda-Anima Film Festival - Cracow 2005
•  Silver "Kreska" - OFAFA - Festival of Polish Animation - Cracow 2005

The biography and filmography of the director.

He has graduated from Fine Art Academy in Lodz and Animation Department in Polish National Film School in Lodz (M.A. in 1990) He gained scholarship from British Council and received training in Jim Henson's Creature Shop and Aardman Animation (1992 ). He made his first film, a cartoon titled "The Episode" in 1988. Later he realized some cartoons for children. But it was only when he made D.I.M in 1992 in Se-ma-for that he found his unique manner and animating human size puppets was a novelty in Polish puppet animation. The experience from making this film he has used in his later works, especially the latest one, Ichthys .

FILMOGRAPHY:

• 1988 - The episode - cartoon - director, script, art director,
• 1989 - Birthdat Cake - cartoon - director, script, art director,
• 1991 - The Last Sandwich - cartoon - cartoon - director, script, art director,
• 1992 - D.I.M. - puppet animation - director, script, art director,
• 1995 - OM - puppet animation - director, script, art director,
• 1998 - Marchenbilder - puppet animation - director, art director,
• 2005 - Ichthys - puppet animation- director, art. director,

Production Company
Se-ma-for Film Production
93-513 Lodz Poland
ul. Pabianicka 34
Zbigniew Zmudzki - producer
semafor@pro.onet.pl
www.se-ma-for.com
tel. fax +48 42 681 54 74