Robert Turło completed interior design studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He received his degree from the latter institution at professor Daniel Szczechura's Animated Film Studio, Graphic Design Department in 1998. He has worked with the Television Animated Film Studio in Poznań since 2002. His productions include about a dozen animated films for children as well as episodes in the series Baśnie i bajki polskie (Polish Tales and Fables) and Miś Fantazy (Fantazy the Bear). films from both series were aired on Polish television channels and also bought by several dozen television stations from all around the world. They also received a number of awards. For the film Lodowa góra (Iceberg) Turło received the Children's Programmes World Golden Medal in the category Television Programming & Promotions at 47th New York Festivals. In addition, his films received the Silver Line awards for best children's animated film at OFAFA Polish Original Animated Films Festival in Kraków four times.
Already the beginning of Turło's adventure with animation looked promising. His first animated film, one with an antiwar message, W.A.L. from 1991 received a prestigious nomination for the Cannes Palm d'Or in the category short film. Produced at Studio Miniatur Filmowych in Warsaw it was a flowing sequence of images which intertwined in the end, full of gags accompanied by dynamic music and the director's characteristic black humour. Maintained in Disney's style the seemingly funny animation bore an unambiguous meaning: war is destruction, chaos and blood. Turło's short film was also presented at the EXPO 92 exhibition in Seville; it received Grand Prix at DRABINA Film Festival in Gdańsk. Polska (Poland), less than a minute long, was much more laconic. It showed the author's original vision of the birth of the Polish flag. It was bitter, almost sarcastic, but at the same time it was clever and promising. That same year (1993) Turło produced an equally synthetic and mocking piece. In Razem (Together) he showed the history of an offensive gesture: the extended middle finger. A similar style was noticeable in Wysokie loty (High Skies) which Turło produced a couple of years later. It was a humorous account of aviation ambitions, the crowd's patriotic enthusiasm and the solidarity of action.
Year 2000 marked the beginning of a new stage in the director's work. Together with his son, Julek, Turło produced Kosmiczna gra (Cosmic Game). He made a computer cut-out from his five-years-old son's drawings inspired by Star Wars and 'gummi bears from playschool no. 8'. The father and son lent their voices to the characters of the kiddie 'epic'. The film's storyline - which centred around saving the world from destruction - was complemented by an inspirational message about facing danger together, about getting over one's fears and about the strength of friendship. The story, striking in its fresh look and visual art, takes place in a 'galaxy far away'. In the end it turns out to be not just a story about 'outer space' but also one about Christmas. The film was warmly received by the jury at the International Young Audience Film Festival in Poznań and Cosmic Game received an honourable mention for the search for new directions in children's animation, in addition to being awarded for art design. Moreover, the film got the Silver Line award at OFAFA Festival in Kraków. His subsequent films for children Turło produced at TV Studio of Animation Films in Poznań. The 2003 Iceberg and O królewnie zaklętej w żabę (The Princess Who Turned into a Frog) which he made two years later were both episodes in the series Polish Tales and Fables, produced for TVP SA. Interesting art design as well as a fresh take on classic stories presented in the films earned Turło still more awards: Silver Lines at two subsequent OFAFA Festivals, the aforementioned Golden Medal for children's programmes in New York, and Bronze Cairo in Egypt. Furthermore, the director received a congratulatory letter from the President of Poland 'or contributing to the promotion of Polish culture in the international arena'. Turło directed Dar Skarbnika (The Treasurer's Gift) and Czarne Licho (Black Devil) for the Polish Tales and Fables series in 2009. He was given the Rooster Children's Jury Award at the Tarnów Film Award Festival. Fantazy Bear, another production made at the studio in Poznań, was also very popular. Turło directed the whole series as well as the episodes Niebieski miś (The Blue Bear), Tajemnica kryształu (The Crystal Mystery), and Imieniny Fantazego (Fantazy's Name Day). In 2007 Turło created another original children's story titled Gdzie jest Księżyc? (Where Is the Moon); the film was produced by ANIMAPOL Film Studio. In Where Is the Moon? you could find themes similar to those present in Cosmic Game as well as an equally naïve, children's-style art design, although this time it was the sole effect of 2D technology.
Numerous music videos productions for well-known Polish artists and Turło's collaboration with the band Von Zeit mark a separate thread in the director's work. He has been associated with the music band since the very beginning, that is 2001. He has been taking part in the band's concerts as the author of video art; moreover, he produced a music video for one of Von Zeit's songs Oni (Them, 2001). He also produced music videos for such bands as Big Cyc Dramat fryzjerski (Hairdressing Drama) and Pudelsi Oto są (Here They Are) - he got Best Animation award at Yach Film Festival for the latter. Another award, the Golden Yach came for the music video Hela which he had produced for the band Piersi. In the following years he made music videos for Lady Pank Słońcem opętani (Possessed by the Sun) and Maciej Maleńczuk (Kos Mos). Furthermore, Turło is the author of art design for Oratorium gdańskie (The Gdańsk Oratorio) with Marek Kuczyński's music and Paweł Huelle's text; Mała historia filantropii (A Little Story about Philanthropy) co-produced with Ewa Ziobrowska; and animated impressionistic work for two documentary films directed by Ewa Pytka Natasza Goerke, czyli przesłuchanie emigranta (Natasza Goerke or the Questioning of an Emigrant) and Podróże Olgi T. (The Travels of Olga T.). In addition, Turło collaborated with TVP SA on such programmes as Wieczór z Jagielskim (An Evening with Jagielski), Jaka to melodia (What's That Tune), Autograf (Autograph) and Jazda Kulturalna (Cultural Drive). Last but not least, the artist has been running children's film animation workshops for many years.
Turło's original films are marked with a logo with the inscription Fabryka Ognia (Fire Factory) - the name of the artist's studio in Tczew, a town where he lives. The director is currently working on his first feature-length animated film with the working title Tatrzańska historia (A Tatra Story).
Filmography:
- 1991 – W.A.L. (award: Gdańsk 1991);
- 1993 – Polska / Poland; Razem / Together;
- 2000 – Kosmiczna gra / Cosmic Game (awards: International Young Audience Film Festival Poznań 2001, OFAFA Kraków 2001); Wysokie loty / High Skies;
- 2003 – Lodowa Góra / Iceberg (award: OFAFA Kraków 2003);
- 2005 – O królewnie zaklętej w żabę / The Princess Who Turned into a Frog (awards: New York 2005, OFAFA Kraków 2005, Cairo 2006, Houston 2007);
- 2005-2007 – Miś Fantazy / Fantazy Bear, director of episodes Niebieski miś / The Blue Bear, Tajemnica kryształu / The Crystal Mystery, Imieniny Fantazego / Fantazy's Name Day (award: Tarnów 2008);
- 2006 – Gdzie jest Nowy Rok? / Where Is the New Year?, co-direction, artistic supervision (award: Bratislava 2007);
- 2007 – Gdzie jest Księżyc? / Where Is the Moon?;
- 2009 – Czarne Licho / Black Devil (award: Tarnów 2010); Dar Skarbnika / The Treasurer's Gift.
Author: Iwona Hałgas, November 2010. Translated by: Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer