Lastrego - History

History

Cristina Lastrego and Francesco Testa, the two co-founders, have been working together for almost 30 years. They have published more than 170 books (translated in 14 languages), 11 CD-ROMs and 104 animated episodes for TV. In 1973, the young judges of the Critici in Erba of the Fiera Internazionale del Libro per Ragazzi di Bologna (Bologna Children Book Fair) gave an award to their book Aladino alla corte del sultano (Aladdin at the Sultan's Court), in 1974.

La Giovanna a fumetti was devised after carrying out research in an Elementary School in Turin. It was published by Einaudi, and received an award at the Salone dell’Umorismo di Bordighera. Over the years their books have been adapted for theatre and TV, receiving many awards, such as the Caran D’Ache in 1980 and the Andersen – Baia delle Favole in 1984.

When CD-ROMs came on to the market, Lastrego & Testa produced various educational titles, such as Drago Tommasone (Ed. Piccoli, 1997), winner of the New Media Prize in 1998, and ImparoGiocando (Rizzoli, 1999).

A few years later, the two authors began creating cartoons based on their own characters, following their experiences with Nippon Animation and Film Polski. In 2002 an old mill just outside Turin was converted into an animation studio, and together with a group of young artists and the RAI Italian Broadcasting Company, they produced the animated series I sogni di Giovanna (52 x 6’30") (Giovanna's Dreams).

Lastrego & Testa also produced the pilot episode of a new 3D series, Doggo & Katty, the adventures of a dog and cat living in a little city garden, who explore the human world with its strange objects.

In 2004 Lastrego & Testa realised Advent Days (25 x 1’10"), a short TV series produced by Rai Innovazione Prodotto, Rai Tre and Rai Centro Produzione Torino, inspired by the Christmas Crib of the Turin City, designed by Emanuele Luzzati. The characters from Luzzati's Nativity are animated using a digital process that mirrors the traditional cut-out techniques used in such masterpieces as Luzzati's and Gianini's La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie) and Pulcinella. Advent Days was broadcast in Italy on Rai Tre from the 1st of December to the 25th.

In December 2004 Francesco Testa has been elected president of the Italian ASIFA.

At the beginning of 2005 it has been realized Aladdin's lamp, pilot of the new series Aladdin's adventures (26 x 13'), co-produced by Rai-Fiction. Backgrounds and characters are inspired by Emanuele Luzzati's graphical work, by kind permission of the artist. The stories are inspired by the compilation of Eastern folk tales Arabian Nights. The drawings are animated thanks to the digital techniques that hark back to the traditional way of cut-out animation, as Luzzati and Gianini did in their works. The main characters are: Aladdin, a young boy in love with the Princess Budur, daughter of the Caliph Harun, and their friend the Genie. Their enemy is the wizard Kufor, that wills to grab Aladdin's magic lamp. Through the series, Aladdin and Budur will have to face lots of adventures, always winning thanks to their wit and reciprocal love. The telling is given to Sherazade's voice and the musical score composed and played expressly for each episode by Lorenzo Marini, in an ongoing dialogue with the graphic designer and animators.

In January 2007, Làstrego & Testa has committed in the production of Amita of the jungle (26 x 7', HD), a TV series for kids between 4 and 7 years old. The series talks about the adventures of Amita, a child who lives in a magic world in which men and animals can still speak together. In the past, to teach children the right way of thinking, were used fairy tales with their symbolic content and proverbs that, within just one sentence, could give access to a precious knowledge. The protagonist is the modern element that connects that ancient knowledge to a contemporary moral, based on sympathy, altruism and cooperation. Amita lives in contact with nature, she loves to dance and to sing. She has a good relationship with every animal. In return the big animals are always ready to help the little girl and to bring her on their back. The series is realized in digital cut out, but the characters are painted by hand with the watercolour technique, to obtain a soft result, which is closer to the traditional illustration. This project have won a nomination to the Pulcinella Awards 2008 for the Best TV Series for Children at Cartoons on the Bay (Salerno, Italy).