LA Film Fest Animation Screenings
Tom Knott writes to let us know that there’s a lot of interesting and rare animation programs happening this month during the Los Angeles Film Festival (June 16-26). For tickets and other details, visit LAFilmFest.com. Here are the program listings for the animation screenings:
ToonTime with THE RZA
Wed Jun 22, 8:30pm The Ford Theatre, $15.00
A founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, THE RZA has been on a non-stop hot streak since the early Nineties. A multi-talented hip hop phenomenon, THE RZA has recorded and produced countless albums, he’s scored films for Jarmusch and Tarantino, he’s acted in movies, and recently he published his first book. But now, he faces his greatest challenge… CARTOONS. While some of the strangest, coolest cartoons you’ve ever seen screen behind him, THE RZA will layer together a soundtrack live, demonstrating his skill at using music to complement the action on screen and evoke moods with a few notes. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime performance when the animated and the Wu collide.
Stan Brakhage: Last Films
Tue Jun 21, 7:15, Redcat, $10.00
The late Stan Brakhage became synonymous with personal and experimental filmmaking. This program of shorts from his last three years — most made up of painted and hand-carved elements — display an astonishing range and subtlety of emotion.
Before Anime: Japanese Animation 1925-1946
Tue Jun 21, 9:30pm / Sat Jun 25, 5pm, Directors Guild, $10.00
Long before anime became a multi-billion dollar industry, Japanese animation was already a thriving artform. From early attempts through the introduction of sound and culminating in propaganda from World War II, this program charts twenty years of work from some of the most influential artists of their times.
A Decade of Iranian Animation – The ’70s
Jun 18, 4:45pm, Directors Guild, $10.00
Iranian cinema has made a big splash in recent years, but rarely have animated films from Iran been shown outside that country. We present ten seminal animated films produced in Iran in the decade of the ’70s.
Tales and Legends from Africa
Sat. Jun 19, 4:30pm/Wed Jun 22, 1:30 pm, Directors Guild, $10.00
Frogs and princesses play a starring role in this collection of African animation from a number of different countries. The program starts and finishes with two films made 35 years apart by the inventive Moustapha Alassane, father of Nigerien cinema.
Walt Disney’s Alice Comedies
Sun Jun 19, 1:30pm, Directors Guild, $10.00
Before Mickey came along, one of Walt Disney’s early successes was a series of films starring a live action little girl who continuously finds herself in a cartoon wonderland.