Lotte Reiniger

BBC Four’s new documentary takes us on a journey through more than a century of animation. It examines the creative and technical inventiveness of some of the great animation pioneers who have worked in Britain – trailblazing talents such as Len Lye, John Halas and Joy Batchelor, Joanna Quinn, and Bristol’s world-conquering Aardman Animations.

No synopsis available yet.

This short documentary looks at the animated art of Lotte Reiniger. We are taken through a demonstration by Lotte herself on the way she cut out, constructed and filmed a silhouette character. She also discusses how she developed the use of coloured gelatines for her backgrounds. To illustrate her output, the documentary includes extracts from several of her films including Papageno (1935), The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) and The Frog Prince.

Portrait of the pioneer of animation films Lotte Reiniger.

Lotte that Silhouette Girl is a short animated documentary about the fantastic and creative life of film pioneer Lotte Reiniger, who was a rockstar of an animator. She invented the multiplane camera and created the first feature length animation. Lotte that Silhouette Girl is an homage to her, told in Lotte’s style, with stop motion shadow animation and through a lens of folktale storytelling. For many unjust reasons, Lotte is just a footnote in the history of film, but she revolutionized animation and made it what it is today. In this short film, Lotte’s puppets have come back to life to set the story straight.

It’s quite telling that Katja Raganelli chose the animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger as her gateway figure into German cinema’s past. Like Alice Guy-Blaché, she was prolific, and worked in all kinds of formats, including commercials and animated interludes for fiction features. More than Guy-Blaché, though, she was an inventor of forms and techniques whose genius was admired by the likes of Bertolt Brecht. It says a lot about film history that Reiniger remains still a specialists’ darling…

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Taken from The Arabian Nights, a wicked sorcerer and the beautiful prince Achmed battle one against the other during a series of wondrous adventures.

Taken from The Arabian Nights, a wicked sorcerer and the beautiful prince Achmed battle one against the other during a series of wondrous adventures.

Film shows the story of Papageno (the one from Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute"), who wants a mate, yet has difficulties getting one.

Film shows the story of Papageno (the one from Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute"), who wants a mate, yet has difficulties getting one.

Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbelina told the tale of a tiny girl grown from seed to be a companion to an old woman, Reiniger has her Thumbelina born spontaneously and magically from a flower, beholden to none but herself.

The Three Wise Men from the East follow the star to Bethlehem, but hostile spirits try to stop them on their journey.

Silhouette film. Based on Bizet’s opera “Carmen”.

Silhouette film. Based on Bizet’s opera “Carmen”.

No synopsis available yet.

A king and queen celebrate their daughter’s birth, but a forgotten fairy curses her to die by pricking her finger on a spindle. Another fairy softens the curse, allowing her to sleep for a hundred years. Despite efforts to remove all spindles, the princess pricks her finger and falls asleep, along with the entire castle.

A king and queen celebrate their daughter’s birth, but a forgotten fairy curses her to die by pricking her finger on a spindle. Another fairy softens the curse, allowing her to sleep for a hundred years. Despite efforts to remove all spindles, the princess pricks her finger and falls asleep, along with the entire castle.

Silhouette film based on Perrault's fairy tale.

Silhouette film based on Perrault's fairy tale.

Silhouette film based on Perrault's fairy tale.

Wishing to take power for himself, a magician tricks his nephew, The Caliph of Baghdad, into sniffing a powder which turns him into a stork.

Silhouette animation prepared to be shown during a scene change of the Fritz Kreisler operetta "Sissi".

Silhouette animation prepared to be shown during a scene change of the Fritz Kreisler operetta "Sissi".

Silhouette animation prepared to be shown during a scene change of the Fritz Kreisler operetta "Sissi".

A love story set to a baroque score, HARLEQUIN is a delicate black-and-white ballet rendered through exquisitely detailed silhouettes.

A love story set to a baroque score, HARLEQUIN is a delicate black-and-white ballet rendered through exquisitely detailed silhouettes.

Silhouette fairy tale film about a man who wins his true love with the help of the "wee folk".

Cinderella lived with her stepmother and her two stepsisters. They were very mean to Cinderella, making her work all day cleaning, sewing, and cooking. She tried her best to make them happy. Cinderella's stepmother, was cold, cruel, and jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty.

Based on Mozart’s The Seraglio.