Stuttgart

Filmografo is a small animation studio based in Oporto  a city in the north of Portugal. Maybe you heard about Porto wine, well, it is the same city.

We are working since 1987. At that time there was no support for animation in Portugal. So, during the first 5 years, the studio were like an hobby.

Only at the end of 1991, the Portuguese Institut of Cinema changed its policy and started to support animation and short films.

"The Outlaws" by Abi Feijó, were one of the first animation films to be supported and it allowed us to start a professional studio.

Since our foundation we try to privilege author films and develop several animation techniques. We are more concerned  about the artistic qualities rather than commercial products. And we have been paying for that with low wages and long hours of work!...

In Portugal there are no professional  training for animation so we have been forced to train our own animators during the productions. I, my self, for instance, one day I came to the studio just to show some drawings and they immediately gave me a character to animate. I even didn't knew what was a peg bar! It was one of the main characters of "the Outlaws"

All our short films together couldn't fulfil an one and a half hour program, so we had to include other kind of films. Today's program is divided in 4 parts:

_In the first part we are going to show you a group of small films for children commissioned by the Portuguese TV. This kind of small films are a good way to train young people and to experiment different animation techniques.

_In the second part we will see three films made at children animation workshops, each one a week long. We feel that it is important for children to start looking films in a different way and it's also nice for us to have a brake in our daily work.

_In the third part we will see pilots for a series and some institutional or publicity  films.

_And finally, in the last part, we will present our main work, nine short films including "A Noite"-"The Night", my own and first film. It's a tale about darkness, fear and loneliness and it was animated on plaster plates, directly under the camera. It is its first screening outside Portugal.

Another film is "Ovo"- "Egg", and one of the directors is also present and will say something.

After the screening I will be around here and I will be available to answer your questions.  

Thanks again and I hope you will enjoy the screening!...