Lotte Reiniger

By Agris Redovics

Lotte Reiniger was able to blend her childhood games into an important part of her life. As a child she never lacked artistic impressions. Influenced by the Chinese shadow plays, 6-year-old Lotte mastered the silhouette technique and began cutting various figures out of paper.  In the artistically active world of German cinema, Reiniger's outstanding skills of cutting out various difficult, but at the same time psychologically correct figures, seemed very fitting. In 1919 Reiniger created her first animated film. However, she came to fame in 1926, after the film The Adventures of Prince Achmed. It was the first full-length animated film in the world and it was also the first film that had been directed by a woman.  Lotte Reiniger worked on nearly 70 films, which were mostly interpretations of the classic fairy tales. Her silhouette films have a particularly strong emotional impact on the viewers.  The figures lack facial expressions; however, they compensate it with plastic movements that show a wide variety of emotions. Nowadays, in the computer animation era, the works of Reiniger look particularly appealing. It seems that the viewers can feel the energy of the artist's hands and the warmth of her heart through these works.  

Sunday 27 October, Kino Bize, 13.00-14.30

The program is suitable for children