THE KITE (2019)
ABOUT THE FILM
The Kite deals with the issue of death, but it does so in a simple metaphorical and symbolic way on the relationship between the little boy and his grandpa. It explains that none of us are here forever and that all living creatures must die, but also to show that death doesn’t mean the end of our journey.
A little boy visits his old grandfather in the countryside and they fly a kite together. They are both made out of layers, which symbolize their age. The boy has many of these layers. He is perspective, because he has all his life before him. But grandfather, on the other hand, has already lost most of his layers and he has only few left. As he gets older, he also gets thinner, and at the end of his life, he is as thin as a sheet of paper. One day, the wind just softly blows him away and takes him up to the sky…
A short stop-motion film by Martin Smatana.
The project is realised in co-production of BFILM.cz (CZ), FAMU (CZ) and CeTA studio (PL). The realisation was supported by Czech Film Fund, Slovak Audiovisual Fund, Foundation Filmtalent Zlín, Tatra banka Foundation and Literary Fund. The international sales agent of the film is Magnetfilm.
animation, CZ/SK/PL, 2019, 13 min.
TRAILER
Our film is available on these platforms:
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS
The world premiere of this film was held in February 2019 at 69th International Film Festival Berlinale 2019 in Germany.
Since then it has received these awards:
Tricks for Kids – Award for the best short film for children – 26th International Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart 2019, Stuttgart, Germany
The Audience Award – 26th IFFC Febiofest 2019, Bratislava, Slovakia
Young Audience Award – Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2019, Annecy, France
Anča Slovak Award – Fest Anča International Animation Festival 2019, Žilina, Slovakia
Best Student Animation Film – 16th In the Palace International Short Film Festival 2019, Varna, Bulgaria
Best Children’s Short Film – 27th Anima Mundi Film Festival 2019, Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo, Brazil
Special Award – 6th Zero Plus International Film Festival 2019, Tuymen, Russia
Children’s Choice Award – 5th TIAF International Animation Film Festival 2019, Taipei, Taiwan
Best Children’s Short Film Award – 10th International Animation Festival of Pernambuco – Animage 2019, Boa Vista, Brazil
STIFF Best Animation Award – 6th STIFF International Student Film Festival 2019, Rijeka, Croatia
Special Jury Award – 18th International Student Film and Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy 2019, Beijing, China
Best Animated Short – 26th Austin Film Festival 2019, Austin, USA
Best promising Score in Industry Award – 9th Kuandu International Animation Film Festival 2019, Taipei, Taiwan
Special Mention of the Family Section Staff – 18th Reggio Film Festival 2019, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Best Children’s Short Film – 15th Rolan International Film Festival for Children and Youth, Yerevan, Armenia
Schools Award of 25 classes – Brest Short Film Festival 2019, Brest, France
Best Children’s Film – 17th Anilogue International Animation Film Festival 2019, Budapest, Hungary
Student Jury Award for the Best Children Film – 17th Anilogue International Animation Film Festival 2019, Budapest, Hungary
Audience Award – 42th Poitiers Film Festival 2019, Poitiers, France
Children’s Jury Award – 22nd Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People 2019, Pyrgos, Greece
Golden Goats – Best Short Film for Children – 37th ALE Kino! for Young Audience 2019, Poznan, Poland
Best Kids Animation – 5th International Animation Film Festival Gdansk 2019, Gdansk, Poland
Coup de Coeur des mini-Sommets – 18th Les Sommets du Cinéma d’Animation 2019, Montreal, Canada
Premio Renato – Best Short Film – 31st Aguilar International Short Film Festival 2019, Aguilar de Campoo, Spain
Next Generation Award – 5th SIFFCY – Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, New Delhi, India
Best Animated Film – 3rd PSIAF Palm Springs International Animation Festival and Expo 2020, Palm Springs, USA
The Audience Award – 4th Indie Junior Allianz 2020, Porto, Portugal
The Payot Black Movie for Kids Prize – Black Movie 2020 – International Geneve Independent Film Festival, Geneve, Switzerland
Best Short Film by Hospital Jury – JEF International Film Festival 2020, Belgium
Best Youth Short Film – REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival 2020, Saguenay, Canada
Special Mention – Fargo Film Festival 2020, Fargo, USA
Honorable Mention for an Animated Short Film from Fantastic Foxes youth jury – 15th Seattle Children’s Film Festival 2020, Seattle, USA
Best Children Film Award – Peque Filmes Festival for Young Audience 2020, Santiago de Compostella, Spain
Special Mention – RiverRun International Film Festival 2020, Winston-Salem, USA
Best Animation – 36th FAMUFEST International Student Film Festival 2020, Prague, Czechia
Audience Award – 16th PAFF Pezinok Alternative Film Festival 2020, Pezinok, Slovakia
Special Mention – Flipbook Film Festival 2020, Skopje, Macedonia
Best Animated Film for Children – 4th KINOSVET International Children’s Film and Television Festival 2020, Minsk, Belarus
Best Animated Film – The Sun in the Net Slovak National Film Awards, Bratislava, Slovakia
Special Mention – 31st IGRIC Slovak National Film Awards – animation category, Bratislava, Slovakia
Best Animation – 3rd Orvieto Cinema Fest 2020, Orvieto, Italy
Best Animation – Zaporizhzhia International Film Festival 2020, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
Grand Prix – 8th Animator Fest European Youth Festival of Animated Films 2020, Jagoina, Serbia
Best International Live Animated Short Film – Cinemira International Children’s Film Festival 2020, Budapest, Hungary
The Child Dreams Prize – 9th Insomnia International Animation Film Festival 2020, Moscow, Russia
Honorable Mention – 44th Atlanta International Film Festival 2020, Atlanta, USA
Best Animated Short Film – 11th Corto e Fieno Rural Short Film Festival, Lake Orta, Italy
Viktor Kubal Award for Best Film – 30th Biennale of Animation Bratislava BAB 2020, Bratislava, Slovakia
Honorable Mention by Jury of the Growth Showing – 13th Entretodos Film Festival 2020, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Vedoanimato competition winner – 25th Linea d’Ombra International Film Festival 2020, Salerno, Italy
Special Mention – 14th Kolibri International Film Festival 2020, La Paz, Bolivia
Special Mention – 25th Errenteria International Short Film Festival 2020, Errenteria, Spain
Grand Prix – 13th Vision International Short Film Festival 2020, Kemerovo, Russia
Honorable Mention – 16th El Ojo Cojo Film Festival 2020, Madrid, Barcelona, Spain
Best student short film, animation – 13th International Moving Film Festival 2020, Khouzestan, Iran
Best Animation – 2nd The Stone Flower International Youth Film Festival 2020, Verkhnyanya, Russia
Best Animation Film – 5th Psaroloco International Children’s and Youth Film Festival 2020, Psaroloco, Italy
Special Mention – ANIFESTROZAFA2021, Tirana, Albania
Audience Award – Penitente Film Fest 2021, Nobsa, Columbia
2nd place – 19th MUMIA International Animation Film Festival 2021, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Nominations
shortlist – 46th Student Academy Awards 2019, Hollywood, California, USA
shortlist – Czech Film and TV Academy – Magnesia Award for Best Student Film
You could have seen The Kite at these festivals:
69th International Film Festival Berlinale 2019, Berlin, Germany
26th IFFC Febiofest 2019, Bratislava, Slovakia
32nd Finále Plzeň 2019, Plzeň, Czechia
26th International Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart 2019, Stuttgart, Germany
16th IndieLisboa Film Festival 2019, Lisbon, Portugal
International Festival of Animated Film Anifilm 2019, Třeboň, Czechia
59th Zlín Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, Zlín, Czechia
26th Animafest Zagreb 2019, Zagreb, Croatia
Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2019, Annecy, France
3rd Festival du Film d’Animation de Savigny 2019, Savigny, Switzerland
Fest Anča International Animation Festival 2019, Žilina, Slovakia
37th Filmfest Munich International Festival 2019, Munich, Germany
20th ShorTS International Film Festival 2019, Trieste, Italy
54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2019, Karlovy Vary, Czechia
16th In the Palace International Short Film Festival 2019, Varna, Bulgaria
27th Curtas Vila do Conde International Film Festival 2019, Vila do Conde, Portugal
10th International Film Festival Anibar 2019, Peja, Kosovo
27th Anima Mundi Film Festival 2019, Rio de Janeiro/Sao Paulo, Brazil
9th Supertoon Animation Film Festival 2019, Šibenik, Croatia
22nd Cervino Mountain Film Festival 2019, Aosta, Italy
43rd Open Air Film Fest Weiterstadt 2019, Weiterstadt, Germany
Hviezdne noci 2019, Bytča, Slovakia
25th Sarajevo International Film Festival 2019, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herczegovina
32nd International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, Isfahan, Iran
30th Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival 2019, Sao Paolo, Brazil
25th Film Festival Della Lessinia 2019, Bosco Chiesanuova, Italy
Peer Raben Music Award 2019, Cologne, Germany
Belo Horizonte International Film Festival 2019, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
22nd International Festival of Animated Film Fantoche, Baden, Switzerland
4th Ulju Mountain Film Festival 2019, Ulju, Korea
Festival Stop Motion Montreal 2019, Montreal, Canada
6th Festival for Children in Warsaw 2019, Warsaw, Poland
BUSTER Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, Copenhagen, Denmark
43th Ottawa Animation Filmfest 2019, Ottawa, Canada
28th Cinemagic International Film Festival, Belfast, Great Britain
3rd BEAST International Film Festival 2019, Porto, Portugal
30th KROK International Animation Film Festival 2019, St. Petersburg/Moscow, Russia
6th Zero Plus International Film Festival 2019, Tuymen, Russia
19th Fete de’l Anim International Animation Film Festival 2019, Lille, France
26th Il Castelli Animati Film Festival 2019, Roma, Italy
11th 3D Wire Animation Film Festival 2019, Segovia, Spain
Milano Film Festival 2019, Milano, Italy
14th Animatou – International Animation Festival 2019, Geneva, Switzerland
14th Show me Shorts Film Festival, Auckland/Christchurch, New Zealand
SCHLINGEL – International Film Festival for Children and Young Audience 2019, Chemnitz
Kaohsiung Film Festival 2019, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
5th TIAF International Animation Film Festival 2019, Taichung, Taiwan
10th International Animation Festival of Pernambuco – Animage 2019, Boa Vista, Brazil
Tbilisi International Animation Festival 2019, Tbilisi, Georgia
5th Thessaloniki International Animation Festival 2019, Thessaloniki, Greece
6th STIFF International Student Film Festival 2019, Rijeka, Croatia
33rd CineKid Film Festival 2019, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
18th International Student Film and Video Festival of Beijing Film Academy 2019, Beijing, China
11th TOFUZI Animation Film Festival 2019, Batumi, Gerogia 54
21th Bucheon Animation Film Festival 2019, Bucheon, South Korea
21st Wiesbaden International Festival of Animation 2019, Wiesbaden, Germany
Banja Luka IAFF 2019, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
26th Austin Film Festival 2019, Austin, USA
13th Big Cartoon Film Festival 2019, Moscow, Russia
9th Kuandu International Animation Film Festival 2019, Taipei, Taiwan
REANIMANIA – Yerevan International Animation Festival 2019, Yerevan, Armenia
12th Filem’on International Film Festival for Young Audiences 2019, Brussels, Belgium
62nd International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Films 2019, Leipzig, Germany
REX Animation Film Festival 2019, Stockholm, Sweden
27th KINEKO International Children´s Film Festival 2019, Tokyo, Japan
33rd IFFestival Braunschweig 2019, Braunschweig, Germany
12th Kuki International Short Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, Berlin, Germany
34th International Film Festival Mar del Plata 2019, Mar del Plata, Argentina
9th Aesthetica Film Festival 2019, York, Great Britain
23rd Winterthur Short Film Festival 2019, Winterthur, Switzerland
18th Reggio Film Festival 2019, Reggio Emilia, Italy
15th ROLAN International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, Yerevan, Armenia
5th International Animation Film Festival Gdansk 2019, Gdansk, Poland
64th Cork Film Festival 2019, Cork, Ireland
Kaboom Animation Film Festival 2019, Utrecht/Amsterdam, The Netherlands
12th El Meu Primer Children’s Film Festival 2019, Barcelona, Spain
43th Cinanima Film Festival 2019, Espinho, Portugal
Brest Short Film Festival 2019, Brest, France
POFF Shorts Black Nights Tallinn 2019, Tallinn, Estonia
57th Gijon International Film Festival 2019, Gijon, Spain
32nd Foyle Film Festival 2019, Derry-Londonderry, Great Britain
Ajyal Film Festival 2019, Doha, Qatar
L’Oeil vagabond Festival for Youth and Children 2019, Brittany, France
Gazte Film Fest 2019, Euskadi, Spain
Umea European Film Festival 2019, Umea, Sweden
7th Anilogue International Animation Film Festival 2019, Budapest, Hungary
42th Poitiers Film Festival 2019, Poitiers, France
LIAF London International Animation Festival 2019, London, Great Britain
22nd Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People 2019, Pyrgos, Greece
25th International Kort Film Festival 2019, Leuven, Belgium
37th ALE Kino! for Young Audience 2019, Poznan, Poland
14th Zubroffka International Short Film Festival 2019, Bialystok, Poland
16th International Animation Festival Animateka 2019, Ljubljana, Slovenia
17th Bogota Short Film Festival 2019, Bogota, Colombia
18th Les Sommets du Cinéma d’Animation 2019, Montreal, Canada
31st Aguilar International Short Film Festival 2019, Aguilar de Campoo, Spain
5th SIFFCY – Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth 2019, New Delhi, India
3rd PSIAF Palm Springs International Animation Festival and Expo 2019, Palm Springs, USA
8th Goteborg Lilla Film Festival 2020, Goteborg, Sweden
9th Kolkata International Children´s Film Festival 2020, Kolkata, India
35th Santa Barbara International Film Festival – SBIFF 2020, Santa Barbara, USA
4th Indie Junior Allianz 2020, Porto, Portugal
VOID International Animation Film Festival 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark 103
Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2020, Clermont-Ferrand, France
3rd Animotion Film Festival 2020, Firenze, Italy
11th Providence Children’s Film Festival 2020, Providence, USA
Black Movie 2020 – International Geneve Independent Film Festival, Geneve, Switzerland
10th Meme Pas Peur International Fantastic Film Festival 2020, Saint-Pierre, France
39th Anima Brussels International Film Festival 2020, Brussels, Belgium
23rd New York International Children’s Festival 2020, New York City, USA
J.E.F. International Film Festival 2020, Belgium
23rd ZOOM ZBLIZENIA International Film Festival 2020, Jelenia Góra, Poland
15th Seattle Children’s Film Festival 2020, Seattle, USA
11th IBAFF International Film Festival 2020, Murcia, Spain
3rd Film Fest Sundsvall 2020, Sundsvall, Sweden
REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival 2020, Saguenay, Canada
Fargo Film Festival 2020, Fargo, USA
18th Creat Rivas International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain
Vilnius Film Festival 2020, Vilnius, Lithuania
37th Carrousel International Film Festival 2020, Rimouski, Canada
Go Shorts – International Short Film Festival 2020, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Cardiff Animation Festival 2020, Cardiff, Great Britain
Cinemira – International Children’s Film Festival 2020, Budapest, Hungary
44th Cleveland International Film Festival 2020, Cleveland, USA
2nd Cine Filou Film Festival for Young People 2020, Castres, France
31st Dresden Short Film Festival 2020, Dresden, Germany
44th Atlanta International Film Festival 2020, Atlanta, USA
38th Bergamo Film Meeting 2020, Bergamo, Italy
10th Big Eyes, Big Minds – Singapore International Children´s Film Festival 2020, Singapore
FILMETS Badalona Film Festival 2020, Badalona, Spain
20th Flensburger Kurzfilmtage 2020, Flensburg, Germany
MECAL Barcelona International Short and Animation Film Festival 2020, Barcelona, Spain
37th BUFF Malmo Film Festival 2020, Malmo, Sweden
36th FAMUFEST International Student Film Festival 2020, Prague, Czech Republic
RiverRun International Film Festival 2020, Winston-Salem, USA
15th Ambulante – Travelling Documentary Film Festival, Mexico
20th MONSTRA International Animation Film Festival 2020, Lisbon, Portugal
38th Amiens Film Festival 2020, Amiens, France
15th International Education Film Festival for Young Audiences 2020, Evreux, France
9th Kyiv International Short Film Festival 2020, Kyiv, Ukraine
15th Okofilmtour 2020, Potsdam, Germany
22nd Guanajuato International Film Festival 2020, Guanajuato, Mexico
16th FEST New Directors Film Festival 2020, Espinho, Portugal
Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival 2020, Kristiansand, Norway
FILE Electronic Language Film Festival 2020 , Sao Paulo, Brazil
5th Psaroloco International Children’s and Youth Film Festival 2020, Psaroloco, Italy
OLHO International Animation Festival 2020, Porto, Portugal
11th One Country One Film 2020, Issoire, Apchat, France
9th KIKI International Film Festival for Children 2020, Zabok, Croatia
14th NAFF International Animation Film Festival 2020, Neum, Bosnia and Hercegovina
8th Constantine’s Gold Coin International Film Festival 2020, Nis, Serbia
30th Biennale of Animation Bratislava BAB 2020, Bratislava, Slovakia
10th Crested Butte Film Festival 2020, Crested Butte, USA
20th Sopot International Film Festival 2020, Sopot, Poland
18th Imaginaria International Film Festival 2020, Conversano, Italy
19th Dokufest International Film Festival 2020, Prizren, Kosovo
19th Countryside Animfest Cyprus Film Festival 2020, Nicosia, Cyprus
4th Still Voices Short Film Festival 2020, Longoford, Ireland
12th FICBUEU International Short Film Festival 2020, Bueu, Spain
23rd Religion Today Film Festival 2020, Trento, Italy
39th International Animation Festival Bourg-en-Bresse 2020, Bourg-en-Bresse, France
Montreal International Festival Lounge Vue sur le Court 2020, Montreal, Canada
13th AnimaSyros International Animation Film Festival 2020, Ermoupoli, Greece
8th Dytiatko International Children’s Film Festival 2020, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Quebec City Film Festival 2020, Quebec, Canada
17th Reykjavík International Film Festival 2020, Reykjavík, Iceland
Zinetxiki Zinemaldia International Film Festival for Children 2020, Bilbao, Spain
Zaporizhzhia International Film Festival 2020, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
13th Entretodos Film Festival 2020, Sao Paulo, Brazil
2nd Satisfied Eye International Film Festival 2020, Surrey, Great Britain
12th Animator International Animation Film Festival 2020, Poznan, Poland
3rd Orvieto Cinema Fest 2020, Orvieto, Italy
7th Catholic Film Festival 2020, Seoul, Korea
23rd To Save and Preserve International Ecological Film Festival 2020, Okrug-Ugra, Russia
12th Stoptrik Animation Film Festival 2020, Maribor, Slovenia
11th Corto e Fieno Rural Short Film Festival 2020, Lake Orta, Italy
5th EUREKA University Film Festival 2020, Bogota, Colombia
37th Tehran International Short Film Festival 2020, Tehran, Iran
Malter Vándor Film Festival 2020, Debrecen, Hungary
39th Uppsala International Short Film Festival 2020, Uppsala, Sweden
39th 1/2 Munich International Student Film Festival 2020, Munich, Germany
12th Milwaukee Film Festival 2020, Milwaukee, USA
4th International Kids Film Festival IKFF, Karnataka, India
25th Linea d’Ombra Film Festival 2020, Salerno, Italy
25th Errenteria International Short Film Festival 2020, Errenteria, Spain
13th Vision International Short Film Festival 2020, Kemerovo, Russia
Pittsburg Shorts Film Festival 2020, Pittsburg, USA
8th Animator Fest European Youth Festival of Animated Films 2020, Jagoina, Serbia
La Gare St. Sauveur Film Event for Children 2020, Lille, France
17th Balkanima International Animation Film Festival 2020, Belgrade, Serbia
KinoKino Festival 2020, Zagreb, Croatia
4th Blue Danube International Film Festival 2020, Vienna/Budapest, Austria/Hungary
4th Drim Short Film Festival 2020, Struga, Macedonia
14th Kolibri International Film Festival 2020, La Paz, Bolivia
2nd The Stone Flower International Youth Film Festival 2020, Verkhnyanya, Russia
16th El Ojo Cojo Film Festival 2020, Madrid, Barcelona, Spain
13th International Moving Film Festival 2020, Khouzestan, Iran
CINI 2021 International Children’s Film Festival 2021, Lima, Peru
Freeze Frame International Film Festival for Kids 2021, Winnipeg, Canada
Children’s Film Festival in Amman – Children Film Day 2021, Amman, Jordan
Materia Magica Puppet Theatre Festival 2021, Kaipeda, Lithuania
38th Puppet Animation Festival 2021, Edinburg, United Kingdom
ANIFESTROZAFA2021, Tirana, Albania
19th MUMIA International Animation Film Festival 2021, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
11th Kinofestival Light of the World, Rybinsk, Russian Federation
Ascendance International Film Festival 2021, Pickering, Canada
ANIMA, Córdoba International Animation Festival 2021, Córdoba, Argentina
9th Insomnia International Animation Film Festival 2020, Moscow, Russia
uMgungundlovu Film Festival 2021, Pitermaritzburg, South Africa
FIAfest 2021, Chia, Columbia
Noble International Film Festival 2021, Bengaluru, India
Penitente Film Fest 2021, Nobsa, Columbia
Corti a Ponte – grande festival 2022, Padova, Italy
AUTHORS
Director: Martin Smatana
Screenplay: Martin Smatana
Screenplay Consultants: Philip LaZebnik, Anna Vášová, Ivana Sujová
Producer: BFILM – Peter Badač
Co-producers: BFILM.cz (CZ), FAMU (CZ), CeTA (PL)
D.O.P.: Ondřej Nedvěd
Art Design: Martin Smatana
Animation: Martin Smatana, Martyna Koleniec, Piotr Chmielewski, Łukasz Grynda, Matouš Valchař, Stanisław Szostak
Editor: Lucie Navrátilová
Image Postproduction: Michal Šabík
Sound Design: Viera Marinová
Music: Aliaksandr Yasinski
MARTIN SMATANA
Martin (1991) is a graduate of the Department of Animation at FAMU, Prague. During his bachelor studies he completed an internship in Nukufilm studio in Tallinn, Estonia. For 5 years he was leading workshops of animation for children. His debut film Rosso Papavero was premiered at Berlinale 2015 Generation Kplus and won 13 international awards.
Filmography:
Rosso Papavero (short animation film, 2015)
The Kite (short animation film, 2019)
GALLERY
CONTACTS
Producer
BFILM – Peter Badač
peter(at)bfilm.sk
Festivals
BFILM – Alexandra Gabrižová
bfilm(at)bfilm.sk
Sales
Magnetfilm – Georg Gruber
georg.gruber(at)magnetfilm.de