Kaunas to honor animation pioneer Vladislovas Starevičius

On September 30, the city of Kaunas will honor Vladislovas Starevičius, a pioneer of world animation. A European Film Academy (EFA) ‘European Film Culture Lobby’ plaque will be unveiled at 20 Town Hall Square, the site of the first Kaunas City Museum where Starevičius worked.

Starevičius spent a significant period of his creative life in Kaunas, where he began his experiments with photography and film. Using equipment provided by the Kaunas City Museum, he filmed his first documentary, ‘Virš Nemuno’. In 1910, he created the world's first stop-motion animation film, ‘Elniaragių kova’, and achieved international fame with ‘Gražioji Lukanida’, also filmed in Kaunas.

Following a proposal by the Lithuanian Cinema Culture Association, the European Film Academy included Kaunas in its list of culturally significant locations for world cinema history. To enhance the visitor experience, the Kaunas City Museum is implementing an NFC tag at the Town Hall exhibition, allowing visitors to access digital content about Starevičius's life and work via a mobile application.