Zabludowicz Collection Film Night, Jan Švankmajer

Earlier tonight I went to the Zabludowicz Collection on Prince of Wales Road near Chalk Farm to see a movie with my amazing friend Katie Kelsey (Quality Bookbinder), part of their free Sunday night movie club/programme. I keep bumping into Amy Brooks who I think now works there, a lovely girl who I curated in a show earlier this year. I also did my foundation at Byam Shaw together with her.


The film we saw was by Jan Švankmajer and was called Little Otik, a surreal story about a couple who cannot have children so the husband decides to dig a root up from the garden and it becomes their son. At first it appears to be unreal but with love and feeding the root begins to grow into a living killing machine that needs to be fed in huge quantities. Soon people go missing and the evil root cannot remain a secret no longer.


Of course there are some small snippets of animation as usual with many of his films. I found this scene below incredible when she is breast feeding the root baby! Completely surreal!


And some of the soup scenes and transitions are just the best...!