Born in Prague in 1934, Jan Švankmajer came to cinema via puppet theatre and graphic arts. A painter, sculptor, graphic designer and all-round visual artist, he created numerous short films between 1964 and the early 1990s (except for seven years of total censorship). Having become one of the greatest directors of animated shorts, a master of the art of “stop motion”, and inspired directors such as Tim Burton or the Brothers Quay, he has subsequently dedicated himself to directing full-length feature films. His films mix different techniques of animation and require such patience and meticulousness that they take an average of four and half years to complete. Beautiful, inventive and exuberant, featuring highly absurd stories and extremely unique universes (situated somewhere between Buñuel and Disney, according to Miloš Forman), these films reflect his affiliation with the surrealist movement. Since its creation in 1997, Cinema Nova has shown all of Švankmajer’s films: "Conspirators of Pleasure", "Otesanek" and "Sileni". We saw no reason to break this good habit: “Surviving Life” his latest film, is worth the detour. And Švankmajer will be among us to present it! He will use this opportunity to unveil another facet of his work: surrealist poetry…