"Lost Animation VI" at Oddball Films January 14, 2011

Event: “Lost Animation VI” Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rarely screened classics and obscurities of world animation. Most are quite scarce- despite scads of accolades and international awards. Films include: “Flatland” (1965), an animated version of the beloved Edwin Abbot novel featuring Dudley Moore!; “The Trendsetter” (1969), hipsters must die in this cool British film by Vera Linnecar; “The Fly” (1980), feel what it’s like to be a fly in this Oscar-winning short from Hungary; “The Hangman” (1964), based on the powerful Ogden Nash poem; “Walking” (1968), artfully captures how people walk; “Both Sides Now” (1972), early computer animation of the famous Joni Mitchell song; “What On Earth!” (1966), produced by the “National Film Board of Mars” who think cars are the dominant life force on Earth; “Opening Speech” (1961), typical Norman Mclaren genius-whimsy; and “Ego” (1969), brilliant dreamscape animation by Bruno Bozzetto; “Noises in the Night” (1969), sweet animation from UPA founder’s Stephen Bosustow Productions.
Date: Friday, January 14, 2011 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://www.oddballfilm.com/oddballftp/Lost_Animation_6.pdf
"Lost Animation VI”
Screens at Oddball Films

On Friday, January 14, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of rarely screened animated shorts- both classics and obscurities. Several of these shorts won or were nominated for international awards and all showcase inventive, wild imagination- from the simplest line drawings, to mid-century modern classics, obtuse international favorites, and countercultural landmarks.
Show time is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

Flatland (Color, 1965)
Life in a two-dimensional world. Narrated by Dudley Moore (as A Square) and members of the “Beyond The Fringe” theatrical group, this early adaptation of the beloved Edwin Abbott novel was produced at Harvard’s Visual Arts Center. The story continues to delight mathematicians, philosophers and computer theorists, and was recently adapted into a musical and the 2007 feature film of the same title. Neither, however, had the wisdom of this film’s brevity, nor the genius of Dudley Moore!

The Trendsetter (Color, 1969)
Cool British animation from the great Vera Linnecar portrays a little man who is annoyed with the little hipsters who ape and one up his every move. Illustrates how the trendsetters depend on others for their sense of self worth.

The Fly (Color, 1980)
Wonderful Academy Award-winning short from Hungary. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to be the “fly on the wall”, you’ll know after seeing this.

The Hangman (Color, 1964)
Moody animation set to the Ogden Nash poem about tolerance and complicity- shown in every grade school/junior high school in the country through the 1970’s. Is it about the Holocaust, playground bullies, McCarthyism? Discussion when the lights go up.

Walking (Color, 1968)
Animator Ryan Larkin uses an artist’s sensibility to illustrate the way people walk. He employs a variety of techniques–line drawing, color wash, etc.–to catch and reproduce the motion of people afoot. The springing gait of youth, the mincing step of the high-heeled female, the doddering amble of the elderly–all are registered with humor and individuality, to the accompaniment of a particularly 1968 freak-folk soundtrack.

Both Sides Now (Color, 1972)
Pioneering computer animation from John Wilson, whose career started in the late 1940’s (winning Oscars for Gerald McBoing-Boing and Toot, Whistle, Plunk, Boom). This short was the first computer generated music film and was produced for and aired on the Sonny and Cher TV show. The song is Both Sides Now by the great Canadian chanteuse Joni Mitchell.

What On Earth! (Color, 1966)
“Martian documentary” by Canadian animators Les Drew and Kaz Pindal reports that there IS life on earth, but mistakes cars as the dominant life form- people are merely parasites that inhabit them. Nominated for an Academy Award.

Opening Speech (B+W, 1961)
Produced by and featuring the master pixilation animator Norman McLaren as he tries to master a recalcitrant microphone at the opening of the 1st Montreal International Film Festival.

Ego (Color, 1970)
Screened recently here as part of the Weirdsville series, this Brilliant animation by Italy’s Bruno Bozzetto (of the cult favorite Mr. Rossi series) demands a re-screening. Opens with traditional comic strip-style animation until the factory-working family man goes to sleep and unleashes his subconscious thoughts, sending him into a battleground of situations. Utilizes a number of animation styles including optical printing and pop art imagery. Features a wild soundtrack by the ultra-lounge master Franco Godi…

Noises In The Night (Color, 1969)
Beautiful and sweet animation from (UPA founder) Stephen Bosustow Productions. Little Sherri hears strange noises at bedtime and wakes up the entire household...night after night after night. Her parents attempt to persuade her that night noises are usually made by familiar things...or are they?

Curator Biography
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. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro Theatre.

About Oddball Films

Oddball films is the film component of Oddball Film+Video, a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Summer of Love, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.  
Our films are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educationals, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.

Official Website: http://mim.io/cd3e8