Fishing with Sam – Atle S. Blakseth

NO 2009 | 6'

The Squirrel and the Swallow – Arjan Boeve
NL 2010 | 6'40"

Flocons et carottes – Samantha Leriche-Gionet
CA 2010 | 4'01"

Mobile – Verena Fels
DE 2010 | 6'24"

Wollmond – Gil Alkabetz
DE 2009 | 6'30"

Der präzise Peter – Martin Schmidt
DE 2010 | 5'35"

Whistleless – Siri Melchior
DK 2009 | 5'

Pig's Happiness – Dace Riduze
LV 2009 | 12'

Frère Benoît – Michel Dufourd
CH 2010 | 8'08"

Alarm im Kasperletheater – Lothar Barke
DDR 1960 | 16'
Die kleine Hexe – Bruno J. Böttge, Manfred Henke
DDR 1981 | 25'
Der Märchenmantel – Horst Tappert
DDR 1982 | 21'

Since 2009, the users of the Magic Lantern’s new website have been led through the stages of film production by an amusing interactive flash animation which is available in five languages. Accompanied by clips from their animations the creators, from artists to musicians, present the film creation process live, step by step, in a funny performance, which is suitable for children. The whole family is welcome!

Dominique Monféry
FR/IT 2009 | F/d
Su: F/narrated in German

Sensibly, or perhaps absurdly, Nathanaël, who cannot read very well, inherits an entire library. He doesn’t know what to do with all the books until he meets Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots and Alice in Wonderland in the flesh, on an expedition through the bookshelves. The most important mission in the boy’s life, for which he has to overcome his own fears in a battle against time, begins. The carefully drawn portrayal of a journey through the history of classic fairytales is a visual delight for young and old alike!

Walt Disney, David Hand
US 1937 | D

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is not just Walt Disney’s most beautiful fairytale film. It is also the first animated feature film completely in colour. It is a classic which has been around for decades, but that really suits it. Disney’s Snow White is still the embodiment of all Snow Whites, the cute dwarfs are as funny as ever and the songs are amongst the catchiest tunes of all time. “Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s home from work we go …”

Hayao Miyazaki
JP 1988 | Jap/e/d

Master Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” tempts us into the wonderful world of two girls who discover some secrets about their new surroundings when they move to the country. Meeting the funny Totoro, a huge animal, which is a cross between a rabbit and a cat, enables the sisters to forget their fear for their sick mother for a while and to experience the most wonderful adventures. Although it has never been shown in Swiss cinemas, this film with its saucer-eyed figures in a setting which is accurate down to the last detail, is one of Miyazaki’s most beautiful works.

A presentation by NIFFF, the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival.

Wes Anderson
US/GB 2009 | E/d

After a number of years of harmonious family life, Foxy secretly starts to go hunting again. At night he sneaks into different stables and cellars and in doing so puts the entire animal community in great danger. The lovingly created felt figures were brought to life using classic stop motion techniques, with which Wes Anderson has succeeded in creating a very special feast for the eyes with his first animated film. Two experts from his team enable us to take a glance behind the scenes of “Fantastic Mr. Fox” in a “Making-of” session.

Paul Grimault
FR 1980 | Fr: F/e and Sa, So: D

There was once a cross-eyed king. He was a tyrant who was a passionate hunter and art collector. Among countless portraits of himself – with no visual impediments of course – hung a picture of a beautiful shepherdess which the lonely king languished in front of for hours on end. Yet one night the beauty fled her picture frame and run away with a chimney sweep. An abundance of delightful details and a superbly animated, independent visual narrative style make this film a unique classic.

Lotte Reiniger
DE 1926 | without dialogue
Sa: Live music

In 1926, the breathtakingly beautiful fairytale based on elements from 1001 Arabian Nights became the first animated feature film in film history. Lotte Reiniger made around 250,000 frame by frame stills over a period of three years, of which just a third were used in the final production of the film. Using her silhouette animation technique, which was inspired by Far Eastern shadow play techniques, and with Walter Ruttman’s animation of the delicate figures, she created an incomparable and poetic work with her scissors. This is shrouded by a fine musical web created by the musicians Marius Peyer (percussion), Ephrem Lüchinger (piano, keyboards) and Thomi Geiger (saxophone, clarinet).

Jiří Trnka
CZ 1950 | without dialogue

In his first feature film, Jiří Trnka tells the story of a country boy who ends up at a royal court as a singer and who rescues the king’s three daughters from the clutches of an evil dragon. “Bayaya” has shaped puppet animation throughout the world. Subtle humour, original music and colouring as well as competent camera work make the minimalist puppets come to life. The pace may seem slow by today’s standards but the graphic power of the production is of a timeless quality.