The Adventures of Prince Acmed (1926, Germany, Lotte Reiniger) is the earliest surviving feature-length animated film. Reiniger created an intricate cutout silhouette animation technique to depict the fantastic adventures of Prince Achmed on the magic island of Wak Wak. And let’s not forget—in an industry dominated by men—it’s a rare film created by a woman. You can see it on the big screen this weekend, one day only, at the Castro Theater!

Lotte Reiniger is the auteur of all of her films, but she is barely remembered today. She loved kids, and rewarded her youthful audiences with challenging but sensitive interpretations of classic fairy tales, new stories and even operatic motifs—all of which played well in the early years of cinema and on television. While in England she performed live shadow-puppet performances, and wrote a definitive book about the art of silhouettes. This is a rare and wonderful opportunity to see a film not only remarkable for its achievement as children’s entertainment, but for its animation craftsmanship, and its creator’s vision.

Presented by the Silent Film Festival at the Castro Theater in S.F., it screens this Sunday, July 13, at 10:30am. “Live Piano Accompaniment by Donald Sosin.