Lubomír Beneš

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Lubomír Beneš (November 7, 1935 in Prague – September 12, 1995) was a Czech animator, director and author living in Roztoky, near Prague. Married, a son and a daughter.

Mat (left, in red) and Pat (right, in yellow)
Mat (left, in red) and Pat (right, in yellow)

Of all his creations, Pat & Mat – with first film The Tinkers (Kuťáci), 1976 – has reached the highest international acclaim. The series comprises short episodes about two highly inventive, yet incredibly clumsy neighbors.

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[edit] 1950s

His parents gave him private tutition in creative writing, drawing and painting. After military service, in the late fifties, Beneš excelled in a talent competition earning him a place in the staff of animated film group Bratři v triku of the animation studios of Krátký film in Prague. There he worked in almost all professions of animation.

[edit] 1960–80s

About ten years later, in 1967, he realized his first film Homo (Man) in Jiří Trnka's Studio. Since this debut he directed over a hundred short films, mostly puppet animations – many of them for children.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Beneš worked also on numerous TV projects, for the state channel ČST.

His films got quite a few prizes abroad and at home. Alone The King and the Dwarf (Král a skřítek) got about ten of them – e.g. Silver Carnation in Sitges, Silver in Odessa, Silver Mikeldi in Bilbao. For the Record Player (Gramofon) from the TV series Pat & Mat /...and that's it! (Pat a Mat /…a je to!) there was the Prize for the best film for children at the 6th festival in Espinho. For Uneven Fight (Nerovný souboj) the Main prize in Vancouver. For With a Smile (S úsměvem) the main prize Golden Dancer in Huesca.

[edit] 1990s

Since 1990 he worked in his own AIF Studio in Prague and Zurich, which he founded together with his son and other Czech and Slovak animation professionals. Next to commission work, they produced 14 latest Pat & Mat episodes, some of them got a number of prizes and awards at international festivals.

The 38th episode The Cyclists (Cyklisti), animated by Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, participated at the "Annecy '93" (Annecy, France) animation festival competition, and has been invited to a number of other world festivals. The Cyclists has also been included in the selection "The Best of Annecy '93" by Cinémathèque Québécoise (Montreal), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley), Museum of Modern Art (New York) and presented by these institutions in their autumn '93 show.

The 44th episode The Billiards (Kulečník), animated by František Váša, has been selected for the "Annecy '95" competition, and invited to almost all other world film festivals. The Billiards has got two prizes at the World Animation Celebration in Agoura (CA), March '97: 1st prize, best animation for a daytime TV series and 2nd prize, best stop motion professional animation.

[edit] External links