On 10 February, the NZ Film Arvchive is screening Stories in
Silhouette, a collection of magical children's fairy tales
brought to life by Lotte Reiniger, a pioneer of silhouette
animation. Fairytales and music form an integral part of Lotte
Reiniger's (1899-1981) artistic oeuvre and were both driving forces
behind her work. She lived in London after the Second World War and
set to work on European fairytales: the Brothers Grimm from
Germany, Perrault from France, and Danish fairytale poet Andersen.
Kalif Storch illustrates that The Arabian Nights also remained a
source of inspiration. She roamed through these different cultures,
using them as stimuli to spur her on to new ideas. Her creative
skills and an ever-present subtle humour save her fairytale
subjects from lapsing into insipid sentimentality. Her characters
are light and vivacious beings who move with balanced grace and
beauty, but nevertheless remain firmly anchored in reality. Read
more
here.