The Animation Community Reacts to Rosto's Death

A death that really left everyone in the independent animation community both shocked and sad. Dutch filmmaker/artist Rosto was known for his exemplary treatment of dreams, music and the subconscious in the animated medium.

The cause of death seems to be lung cancer; his work leaves film like The Monster of Nix, Splintertime, Reruns. For a more comprehensive view on his work, check the 2015 Animateka programme tribute.

Initial news about his death came from  Autour De Minuit founder and producer Nicholas Schmerkin (Autour de Minuit produced and distributed Rosto's films) in his facebook post. " Even before being a genius of the image, a talented composer and a global figure of animation, he was above all an exceptional soul, a heart of gold in a rocker's jacket, a punk with unparalleled class who has marked every person he has crossed over his travels around the world"

Daniel Šuljić, artistic director, Animafest Zagreb:  He generously left behind such a body of cinematic and graphic work to dive into which will never be matched in its uniqueness and greatness.

Marcel Jean, artistic director, Annecy Festival: He was an immense artist who helped revive the aesthetics of animation and has marked many other artists and fascinated thousands of moviegoers over the past 20 years.

Theodore Ushev (Canada): Rosto, i'll miss your diabolical, deep intelligence, so rare, so beautiful...

Chris Robinson, artistic director OIAF: All of us in this little animation village lost a brother today.

Chintis Lundgren (Croatia/Estonia): This was the coolest jury experience I had. I had never met Rosto before and based on his films (which are so different from mine) I expected to spend a lot of time arguing and maybe even throwing vodka bottles at each other. But instead we discovered that taste is one thing and a good film is something that’s above that. Fun times were had and a lot of cheap wine was drank. Every time I met him afterwards it felt like we’re old pals from forever ago.

Midhat Ajanovich (Bosnia): Rosto asserted himself as an artist with a personal understanding of animation. Animation space in all his films enables natural liberation from the limitations of actual space and entering into the world of the fantastic, symbolical and metaphorical. His films amalgamated the poetry of Tarkovsky, the energy of Jim Morrison, and the power of visual expression of Bill Viola.

Tünde Vollenbroek (The Netherlands) : I just can't imagine Dutch animation without Rosto... His films so eerie, but his personality so kind-hearted.

Jonathan Hogson (UK): Another true visionary artist and musician, gone too soon.

#rip