Glass Atrium, Ljubljana City Hall, Mestni trg 1, Ljubljana
26. 11-15. 12
NOV 8.00-20.00
DEC 8.00-22.00

Exhibition opening & Anja Resman in conversation with Igor Prassel
26. 11 at 18:00

Guided tour in English with Anja Resman
3. 12. at 16:00

Look behind the scenes of the film: Guided tour for children with Anja Resman & a short animation workshop
12. 12. at 16:00–17:00

Opening as part of the International Animated Film Festival Animateka 2024, Beyond the Face is an exhibition that gives insight into Anja Resman’s eponymous professional debut film, created using the stop-motion puppet animation technique. Animation, especially in analogue form, is inextricably linked to many sub-genres of visual art, including drawing, design, modelling, painting and antiquing of sets, puppets and props, as well as the use of photography, a fundamental aspect of the cinematic experience that shapes the visual language, artistic style, narrative structure and atmosphere of the animation.

The whole process and the specifics of the animation technique often remain invisible since our eye, if the animation is well executed, falls under the illusion of movement and the narrative itself. This is why animation exhibitions are so valuable: they pause the film and allow for a new perception of individual segments of animation through the prism of the visual art that underpins it.

The basic motivation for and concept of the story is based on the words of writer Amanda Richardson: “In a world where everyone wears a mask, it’s a privilege to see a soul.” The story takes the viewer through an interplay of reality and fantasy. It is told through the eyes of a young man who, clearing the apartment of his late father, recalls his traumatic upbringing and the loss of his childhood the moment his father put a mask on his face to prepare him for an independent life. The mask is an abstract, motionless metaphor for an expressionless face, similar to those worn by all the other characters in his life, including his father. The film follows the adult Nalu as he decides to take off the mask, arriving in a dimension that combines the perspectives of a child and an adult, but not without consequences.

The protagonist’s last gesture symbolises introspection, self-reflection and confrontation with one’s identity, completing the cycle of exploring one’s past and the meaning of existence. The film allows for an open interpretation, enveloped in an interplay between reality and the fantasy of abstract and grotesque metaphors, thus enabling a wide variety of viewers to relate. The filmmaker takes the viewer through her own experience and feelings of her first venture alone from the safety of her family home into the wide world.

The exhibition showcases the sets of the old town street, which draws its aesthetics from the architecture of various Slovenian towns (Ljubljana, Kamnik, Kranj and Radovljica), with the hill with the castle reminiscent of the Ljubljana Old Town. The buildings seem renovated, but despite the attraction of the shops and cafés, the street has a harsh feel to it. The choice of the Old Town as the location underlines the timelessness of the theme. Several rooms of the old town apartment are also on display, with strikingly intricate details and carefully crafted realistic miniature props. Then there are puppets, made entirely by the artist and her team. The rigs are made up of a hundred and forty different parts, the heads are 3D printed, and the puppets have several different faces to express emotions, which are changed as necessary during the animation process.

Beyond the Face uses skilful stop-motion animation to address the hardened gaze, expression and perception of the adult world and the general insensitivity of the individual in contemporary society. The artist uses the medium of stop-motion animation out of her love for the magical world of puppets, to which she can breathe a piece of herself. By recalling the lost childhood cheerfulness, curiosity, and candour and using symbolic language, she points to disappearing values.

Anja Resman (1997) is a Slovenian animator, director and screenwriter. After graduating from the Secondary School of Design and Photography in Ljubljana, majoring in graphic design, she continued her studies at the School of Arts in Nova Gorica. During her studies, she made several animated films (including Anabel (2016) and Wake Up (2018)). Beyond the Face (2024) is part of her master’s thesis and a professional debut. In 2019, it won the Slovene Animated Film Association (DSAF) Award for a student animation project in development, and in 2024, the DSAF Award for completed student animation.

Directed by: Anja Resman
Screenplay: Anja Resman
Producer: Jožko Rutar
Coproducers: Boštjan Potokar, Kolja Saksida, Miha Černec, Danijel Pek, Katarina Prpić
Animators: Ivana Bošković, Julia Pegue, Anja Resman, Bartosz Kotarski, Thomas Johnson
Director of Photography: Miloš Srdić
Editing: Iva Kraljević
Production Design: Robert Resman, Anja Resman
Costume Design: Katja Richter
Postproduction/Editorial Department and Visual Effects: Mark Bizilj
Colour Correction: Teo Rižnar
Sound: Julij Zornik
Production: Zavod Spok
Coproduction: School of Arts University of Nova Gorica (AU UNG), ZVVIKS, Tramal Films, Antitalent, RTV Slovenija, Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC)
With the support of: Slovenian Film Centre, Viba Film

Exhibition producer: 2 Reels – Association for Reanimation of Storytelling
Exhibition coproducer: DSAF – Slovene Animated Film Association