Kārlis Vītols (1979) graduated Department of Painting (Master’s degree2003) at the Art Academy of Latvia. Besides painting in 1996 he started to make movies, using his classmates as the actors. Two years later he founded the alternative technique – cutout, which allowed him to replace living actors with animated ones. Bewitched by immense and independent drawing possibilities, he still sticks to the cut out technique.

Karlis Vitols is interested in mythology, archetypes and their usage and the role of consumers in society. As a trained painter, he always pays special attention to the visual aesthetics of a film that satisfies his artistic vision.

On occasions he has played musical instruments such as the blues harp, tenor and modular synthesizer on stage and he has composed music for his films. As a musician he performs under his stage name “Kauli” or “Totem”.

Received the Latvian National Film Award “Lielais Kristaps” in 2017 for his film “Minotaur” as The best animation film and The best animation artist and in 2020 for his film “The Swan Maiden” - The best animation artist.