It’s a bit chaotic, feels Czech filmmaker

“I don’t know if this is the way it works out here. I feel the planning is not razor sharp,”- Director Jan Tomanek

‘Goat Story With Cheese’, the sequel to the highly successful Czech animated movie ‘Goat Story: Old Prague Legends’ received a big round of applause from the packed IMAX when it was screened on Sunday morning as a part of the ongoing Children’s Film Festival in Hyderabad. Jan Tomanek, the film’s director, was visibly excited as students circled him to ask about the technique employed in the film besides putting forward what they loved the most.

We caught up with this modest director prior to the screening of the show. If the first film was for children above 10 years, this is a fairytale for children above five years, he shares. “Taking the help of Goat, young Zuzanka and Honzik go in search of their parents, who the Devil has kidnapped to punish them for producing superior goat cheese. They find out that their parents are locked as prisoners of Kobyl, the trusted cheese monger of a king who loves cheese, and who keeps the royal pantry stocked with the finest cheese from all over the world,” he says and adds that what follows is dangerous yet a ‘cheesy’ adventure. “It also has some songs in it. We’ve designed them in a way that children would love to catch them.”

The pioneer of developing Czech animation, he says making the sequel, too, was a laborious process. “We wrote the script for one and half years and spent three years in the animation studio. The post production too was time consuming. We had to record some 30,000 sounds for the film,” he smiles.

He also came down heavily on the way the festival was being conducted. “It is a bit chaotic. I don’t know if this is the way it works out here. I feel the planning is not razor sharp.” However, he also pointed out that it’s great to see someone organising a festival for children who are equally enthusiastic to grab the opportunity with both hands.

While he hasn’t had much time to check out Hyderabad as he landed in the city two days ago, he is keen on exploring the city. “This is my first time in India and I’ve already been to the Nehru Zoological Park on Saturday evening. It was a great place to visit. Next on my list include the Old City, Charminar and the Golconda Fort.”

While he hasn’t watched any Indian films till now, he is hoping that his film, which is in the competition for international animation, walks away with the Golden Elephant.