Laska was born and raised in Warsaw, Poland and he became an artist/animator super early on- it’s listed that he went to the Academy of Fine Arts which is an arts school in Poland!
To start off here is a short reel of a lot of his work:
http://michalsocha.com/portfolio/reel-2019
So overall he’s veryyy interesting. He experiments with a lot of different styles, some of which are more contemporary/modern. His most famous film is Chick (2008). My first source was his website because he actually has information in both Polish and English so I was able to read some stuff!
When looking through his website one common motif I found was the peace dove (I think). He uses it a lot for a lot of different things, and one artwork he uses it and says the word “Freedom” so I think it could be a big reoccurring theme in his work to use a dove or bird in general to evoke positivity and/or peace.
My second source is an article by Cartoon Brew. It seems to be something similar to a student-run blog website. It talks about Chick and how its abstractedness really stays with the viewer long after watching. It talked about how the film was actually made using a lot of CG which I found super cool! He utilizes many different mediums and combines them to create interesting atmospheres. Chick has adult themes but it isn’t explicit (that’s where the abstraction comes in, he uses it so that he doesn’t have to fully show it) Some of it has artistic nudity but nothing too crazy. When I first watched it up until the end I thought it was about maybe a woman in an unhappy relationship, wanting to escape from her life or husband or something but the final part really threw me. I’m pretty sure it’s about prostitution or being a sex worker, and how each person becomes a part of her. I thought it was a very intriguing story.
CITATIONS:
“REEL | Michał Socha.” Michalsocha.com, 2015, michalsocha.com/portfolio/reel-2019/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
Amid Amidi. ““Chick” by Michal Socha.” Cartoon Brew, 20 May 2011, www.cartoonbrew.com/cgi/chick-by-michal-socha-42205.html. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
Socha, Michal. “Laska.” IMDb, 2025, www.imdb.com/title/tt1660612/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
IMDb. “Michal Socha – Visual Effects, Director, Animation Department.” IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm3926251/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.