LIGHT DRAWING: THE ZAGREB SCHOOL OF ANIMATION
Sat 29 March at 3.30pm
Croatia 1958

Duration: 122 minutes
Certificate: 12A

Croatian with English subtitles

When, in 1958, film historian Georges Sadoul saw a small retrospective of animated films produced by the Zagreb Film Studios, he was so impressed by their originality and technique that he coined the term the Zagreb School of Animation.

The films, starting with The Loner (Samac), which won best animated film at Venice, went on to win a slew of awards at international film festivals. This collection includes the best films from the twenty-year period between 1958 and 1978, including The Loner, the abstract masterpiece Don Quixote (Don Kihot), and the Paul Klee influenced The Substitute (Surogat).

Full programme:

The Loner (Samac) – Vastroslav Mimica 1958
Concerto for a Sub-machine Gun (Koncert za masinsku pusku) – Dusan Vukotic 1958
The Inspector is Back! (Inspektor se vratio kuci) – Vatroslav Mimimca 1959
The Piece of Shagreen Leather (Sagrenska koza) – Vlado Kristl 1960
Don Quixote (Don Kihot) – Vlado Kristl 1961
The Substitute (Surogat) – Dusan Vukotic 1961
The Wall (Zid) – Ante Zaninovic 1965
Curiosity (Znatizelja) – Borivoj Dovnikovic-Bordo 1966
Revelry (Bearac) – Zlatko Bourek 1966
Passing Days (Idu Dani) – Nedeljko Dragic 1969
Satiemania (Satiemanija) – Zdenko Gasparovic 1978

Aladdin
Sun 30 March at 1pm
John Musker & Ron Clements

USA 1992 90 minutes Rated U

With the voices of Scott Winger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman

Poor Aladdin looks longingly at the Sultan's luxurious castle, and dreams of living inside, but Princess Jasmine wants only to escape that pampered life. Finally, she does run away, only to discover how hard life on the streets can be.

Aladdin comes to rescue, and soon the two have fallen in love. But how can a beggar marry the sultan's daughter?

His only hope lies in the magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders and a wisecracking genie who can grant wishes.

The Three Musketeers
Sun 13 & Mon 14 Apr
Janis Cinermanis • Denmark/ Latvia/ United Kingdom 2007 •
1h15m • 35mm • Dubbed into English • U
D’Artagnan and the musketeers swash their buckle in
this entertaining and extremely funny puppet animation
adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale.

Changing Times - a programme of 3 short films
Tue 15 Apr only
Pritt Pjarn/Garry Bardin/Jan Svankmajer • Estonia/ Russia/ Czech
Republic 2006 • 1h5m • 35mm • Russian, Estonian and Czech
with English subtitles • 12A
Three films, all made in the momentous early 1990s, that
look back at the influences of communism and forward to
the impact of the free market.

Hotel E
Priit Pjarn, Estonia 1992, 28 minutes
A complex tale about modern Europe that considers issues
of national identity, the changing relationship between East
and West and commercialisation, whilst anticipating the
fl ood of American mass culture.

Grey Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood
Garry Bardin, Russia 1990, 28 minutes
Extremely popular and entertaining perestroika spoof
where a grotesque big bad wolf croons Mack the Knife
whilst eating his way through a riot of American and Soviet
cartoon characters.

Death of Stalinism in Bohemia
Jan Svankmajer, Czech Republic 1990, 9 minutes
A self confessed work of ‘agit-prop’, the celebrated master
of Czech animation pays an ironic tribute to the events of
1990 which ended the reign of communism in his country.

Kihachiro Kawamoto Shorts
Thu 17 Apr only
Kihachiro Kawamoto • Japan • 1h30m • 35mm • Japanese with
English subtitles • 15
Born in 1925, Kihachiro Kawamoto is considered a living
treasure in his home country, with over thirty years spent
creating some of the world’s most sublime and atmospheric
stop motion animation. Having studied in Prague under
Czech animator Jiri Trnka, who encouraged him to draw
on his own country’s rich cultural heritage, Kawamoto
returned to Japan to make a series of painstakingly crafted
masterpieces with their roots in Japanese legends and the
theatrical forms of Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku theatre. This
programme features some of his fi nest short fi lms, such as
the haunting ghost story The Demon (1970) and foreign
myths and fairytales in To Shoot Without Shooting (1988),
adapted from a tale set in ancient China.