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A selection of films that celebrate the expressive and rhythmic animated forms that are created using hand-painted and paper-cut-out techniques, many that depict an evocative, spiritual journey from the old world to the new.

This strand contains flashing images.

Pianoforte 1984 dir. Antoinette Starkiewicz (11 mins)

“A young woman who yearns to become a concert pianist is rescued from a sleazy cabaret by a mysterious cat burglar with whom she falls in love.” Marian Quigley

Elephant Theatre 1985 dir. Sabrina Schmid (15 mins)

“One man has built a little theatre which he can hold in the palm of his hand. It reveals a world of its own. Yet there remains one dream to be fulfilled: that some elephants will come to live in it.” Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)

Once as if a Balloon 1989 dir. Sabrina Schmid (3 mins)

“The basis for this animation are photographs taken on one day in 1961, representing the filmmaker's own childhood, specifically ‘the event of being tossed in the air as a one year old’. She describes the film as an ‘autobiographical notation...reworked and animated from the present, adult point of view’ and so, the nature of memory, time and distance is reflected upon.” Melbourne International Film Festival

Letter to a Friend 1978 dir. Sonia Hofmann (8 mins)

“A love affair is given a certain cosmic dimension through animation.” The National Film and Sound Archive

Songs of the Immigrant Bride 1996 dir. Jill Carter-Hansen (9.45 mins)

“A metaphor of the exile exploring the theme of adjustment to new times and places. In times of chaos the sanctuary of the familiar is lost but the fears we carry can also blind us to the sanctity of the new. Music composition interwoven with the artist’s own ethereal voice chants combine seamlessly with paintings and animated images to describe a spiritual odyssey mirrored in a physical journey from an ancient to a new found land.” Jill Carter-Hansen

The Emu and the Sun 1989 dir. John Skibinski (7 mins)

An animated Dreaming story.

Ayer 1985 dir. Kathy Smith (0.50 mins)

A woman dreams of Uluru.

Kru Kru Krii the Bird 1973 dir. Ulla Mattas (6 mins)

“An animated fable about a bird scratched and painted onto black leader.” The National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra

Pianoforte 1984 dir. Antoinette Starkiewicz (11 mins) “A young woman who yearns to become a concert pianist is rescued from a sleazy cabaret by a mysterious cat burglar with whom she falls in love.” Marian Quigley Elephant Theatre 1985 dir. Sabrina Schmid (15 mins) “One man has built a little theatre which he can hold in the palm of his hand. It reveals a world of its own. Yet there remains one dream to be fulfilled: that some elephants will come to live in it.” Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) Once as if a Balloon 1989 dir. Sabrina Schmid (3 mins) “The basis for this animation are photographs taken on one day in 1961, representing the filmmaker's own childhood, specifically ‘the event of being tossed in the air as a one year old’. She describes the film as an ‘autobiographical notation...reworked and animated from the present, adult point of view’ and so, the nature of memory, time and distance is reflected upon.” Melbourne International Film Festival Letter to a Friend 1978 dir. Sonia Hofmann (8 mins) “A love affair is given a certain cosmic dimension through animation.” The National Film and Sound Archive Songs of the Immigrant Bride 1996 dir. Jill Carter-Hansen (9.45 mins) “A metaphor of the exile exploring the theme of adjustment to new times and places. In times of chaos the sanctuary of the familiar is lost but the fears we carry can also blind us to the sanctity of the new. Music composition interwoven with the artist’s own ethereal voice chants combine seamlessly with paintings and animated images to describe a spiritual odyssey mirrored in a physical journey from an ancient to a new found land.” Jill Carter-Hansen The Emu and the Sun 1989 dir. John Skibinski (7 mins) An animated Dreaming story. Ayer 1985 dir. Kathy Smith (0.50 mins) A woman dreams of Uluru. Kru Kru Krii the Bird 1973 dir. Ulla Mattas (6 mins) “An animated fable about a bird scratched and painted onto black leader.” The National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra

Ages 15+