Together
KINO – Animation and Film UMPRUM
16. 5. – 3. 6. 2026
opening: 15. 5. 2026 from 6 PM
curator: Michaela Režová, Jan Drozda
The studio is not only a place but a space, a group – a collective. Animation is often a solitary and exceptionally timeconsuming practice, and students spend much of their lives in the studio: they work, cook, relax, and live together. Out of this shared daily rhythm, close friendships and lasting collaborations on film projects emerge – sometimes organically, sometimes through studio assignments.
This culture of collective filmmaking, however, did not always define the studio. Although the Animation and Film Studio will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2026, its decisive shift toward collaborative filmmaking was sparked by the revolutionary pedagogical approach of Jiří Barta, who initiated several major student productions beginning in the 1990s. The first and most significant of these was the legendary filming of Prostřený stůlin Kostelec nad Černými lesy.
In 2022, under a new leadership team, the studio revisited this legacy with the film Kupé, conceived as a homage to the now cult classic. Placed side by side, the two works enter a dialogue across generations—linked by a shared animation language and the reappearance of a familiar face that subtly flows between them.
The exhibition also presents a crosssection of works shaped by the studio’s distinctive DIY ethos—students not only direct and animate the films but often appear in them as performers. Among these is the rediscovered gem Little Red Riding Hood (2002), alongside the hidden treasure Kolja Kolejochodec (2022), created in parallel with the production of Kupé. Equally noteworthy is a series of music videos developed in 2023 under the shared framework: start a band – release a single – make a music video. The most recent addition to this lineage is the graduation film The Schoompenlackens ep. 5318008 (2026).
Two animated documentaries – Film and Television Graphics Studio (2009) by Jan Drozda, the studio’s current codirector, and 402 (2021) by Patrik Trska – offer an intimate glimpse into the studio’s inner life. Together with a series of photographs, these works capture the distinctive atmosphere of the studio’s former home: the nowdefunct attic space on Palach Square.
The program of the Jeleni Gallery is possible through kind support of Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Prague City Council, State Fund of Culture of the Czech Republic, City District Prague 7,
GESTOR – The Union for the Protection of Authorship
Partners: Art Hotel Praha
Media partners: ArtMap, jlbjlt.net
