
“Lost Animation Festival”
Screens at Oddball Films
Thursday Jan. 28 through Saturday Jan. 30
Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present three nights/five programs of rarely screened/rarely seen animated films. Dredged from the 50,000+ 16mm film archive, these lost classics and rarities are a treasure trove for animation and fans of the surreal and sublime. Admission is $10.00/35.00 Festival Pass. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.
Thursday, January 28 8:00PM
Opening Night Reception + The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
Karel Zeman’s ground-breaking work (Color, 1958, 83 mins.) in the genre of stop motion animation is an awe-inspiring, meticulous cinematic rendering of the aesthetic and conceptual inventions of proto-science fiction genius Jules Verne.
The film’s intricate art direction successfully renders the visual style of nineteenth century woodcuts and engravings into motion pictures and creates a stylized and surreal graphic world.
Zeman’s eclectic cinematic style influenced many contemporary quirky directors such as Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. Mixing slapstick comedy, slightly satirical, larger-than-life performances of the cast, action pacing and Mélies-style film magic, this little known Czechoslovakian gem brings a bizarre and futuristic visionary novel to life.
Plus! Revenge of the Kinematograph Cameraman (Dir. Ladislas Starévich, B+W, hand tinted, 1912)
Wildly inventive landmark of early cinema and stop motion animation, insects star in this Kafkaesque love triangle. Polish director Ladislas Starévich, working in Russia, started out as an entomologist when he tried to replicate a bug battle he had witnessed. His experiment was so successful and satisfying that he continued with animation.
Friday, January 29 8:00PM
Subversion and Mystery in Eastern Europe
Some of the most original, wittiest and satiric animation emerged from Eastern Europe during the cold war- many were thinly veiled subversion, enough to pass the censors apparently. Others are so mysterious that it’s no mystery the censors let them through.
From the relatively well known to extremely obscure—these are some of our favorites.
Films Include:
Rhinoceros (Color, 1935, Dir. Jan Lenica)
Ersatz (Substitute) (Color, 1961)
Bags (Color, 1967)
A Place In The Sun (Color, 1960)
The Fly (Color, 1980)
The Hand (Dir. Jiri Trinka, Color, 1965)
Kosmodrome 1999 (Dir. Frantisek Vystreil, Color, 1968)
Red and Black (Dir. Witold Giersz, Color, 1963)
Plus- Blacktop, Duet, The Sword and more!
Friday, January 29 10:00PM
Wild Innovation in American Animation
From the country that knows how (or knew how): humor, jazz, rock ‘roll, and some of the most visually stunning animation on the planet, whether from independent artists or the largest studios.
Films Include:
Claude (Dir. Dan McLaughlin, Color, 1963)
Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (Dir. Ward Kimball, Color, 1953, pictured above)
Urbanissimo (Dir. John/Faith Hubley, Color, 1966)
Mountain Music (Dir. Will Vinton, Color, 1975)
The Interview (Dir. Ernest Pintoff, Color, 1960)
Frank Film (Dir. Frank Mouris, Color, 1973)
Kick Me (Dir. Robert Swarthe, Color, 1975)
Fantasy (Dir. Vince Collins, Color, 1975)
Thank You Mask Man (Dir. Jeff Hale, Color, 1971)
Stop, Look and Listen (Dir. Len Janson/Chuck Menville, Color, 1967)
Plus! Animated commercials from the 1950’s and 1960’s
Saturday, January 30 8:00PM
World Animation: Post-War Avant Garde and Social Critique
A broad stroke of post-war animation with subjects that range from the deeply disturbing (death, cannibalism, alcoholism) to hypnotic, visual hallucination to social critique. None are simply pure entertainment or subtle subversion.
Films Include:
Hunger (Dir. Peter Foldes, Color, 1974)
Spacy (Dir. Takashi Ito, Color, 1980-81)
The Trendsetter (Dir. Vera Linnecar, Color, 1970)
History of the Cinema (Dir. John Halas, Color, 1957)
Toys (Dir. Grant Munro, Color, 1966)
Mr. Rossi Buys A Car (Dir. Bruno Bozetto, Color, 1966)
Flower Storm (Dir. Ali Akbar Sadeqi, Color, 1972), Returnable Bottle (Dir. Johan Hagelbeck, Color, 1977)
Mr. Frog Went A Courtin’ (Dir. Evelyn Lambert, Color, 1974)
Saturday, January 30 10:00PM
Banned! Censored! Animation
Racism, sexism, drug references and more were routinely featured in American animation- many of these cartoons were shown on TV through the late 1960’s until they were pulled from distribution. Swept from the public eye as an embarrassment and considered a danger to the public, these cartoons are nonetheless a part of American cultural and artistic history, should be available, and perhaps need to be seen.
Films Include:
Coal Black and The Sebben Dwarfs (Color, 1943)
Tokio Jokio (B+W, 1943)
Little Black Sambo (Dir. Ub Iwerks, Color, 1935)
All This and Rabbit Stew (Color, 1941)
Minnie The Moocher (B+W, 1932) Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat (B+W, 1941)
Bacall To Arms (Color, 1946)
Jungle Jitters (B+W, 1938)
Buried Treasure (B+W, 1928)
Curator Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave.
Oddball films is the film component of Oddball Film+Video, a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US.