Gabriela Gavalčinová

Gabriela Gavalčinová was born March 5, 1944 in Humenné. In 1969 she graduated from the Philosophical Faculty of Comenius University in Bratislava. In 1963 she helped to create a network of film clubs in Slovakia and headed the PKO Film Club in Bratislava. From 1967 till 1993 she worked at the Slovak Film Institute in Bratislava in documentation, later in the department of film research and methodology. Since 1977 she had collaborated with the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB), in frame of which she organized the show of animated films for children, since 1985 at international level and beginning from 1991 at level of an independent festival Biennial of Animation Bratislava (BAB).  Later she prepared this event in the office of the BAB Foundation custodian (1993-1996), since 1997 till retirement in the office of the head of the BAB Secretariat at BIBIANA, the international house of art for children in Bratislava. She died September 20, 2006 in Bratislava.

Gabriela Gavalčinová significantly contributed to establishment and development of now internationally recognized festival - the Biennial of Animation Bratislava (BAB). Due to her personal dedication and empathy the show originally designed as an accompanying event of the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB) aimed at presenting the parallels between children´s book illustration and animated film, had risen to the level of an international film festival. She managed to gain the auspicies of both the International Animation Association ASIFA and the International Centre of Films for Children and Young People CIFEJ for the BAB, introduced the UNICEF Award and Visegrad Award. Thanks to its high credit the BAB was attented by big personalities of world animated film like Fréderick Back, Jan Švankmajer, Gene Deitch, Emanuele Luzatti, Faith Hubley, Co Hoedeman, Giulio Gianini.

She also took part in other festival juries (Poznań) as an expert in field of Slovak animated production and prepared programmes for world summits on media in Thessaloniki and Rio de Janeiro. She is the author of numerous filmography lists, catalogues and special publications. In BIBIANA she prepared exhibitions as a dramaturgist, co-author of scripts and set designs.