Anijam

Evolution of the Red Star

January 1973 •English

Music: Carl Stone. Colored pen-and-ink drawings, like topological maps of biomorphic objects, grow and evolve from the red star. Once the master image is formed, this continuously throbbing, pulsating sight is used to ring changes based on years of optical work. Music and picture work together to create a mood of ecstatic tranquility. The bright colors, beautiful music, surprise at the end, etc. make this a good film for young children. Awards: Sinking Creek Film & Video Festival, 1973; Washington National Student Film Festival, 1974; Brooklyn Independent Filmmakers Exposition, 1974; Vanguard Int'l Competition of Electronic Music for Film, 1974; Humboldt Film Festival, 1974. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2007.

The Shoemaker and the Hatter

January 1950 •German

The cartoon is one of the Marshall Plan's most popular films. A clash between a shoemaker and a hat maker illustrates the contrasts between protectionism and free trade. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2003.

Frank Film

April 1973 •English

A compilation of images co-creator Frank Mouris had collected from magazines interwoven with two narrations, one giving a mostly linear autobiography and the other stating words having to do with the images, the story the first voice is relating, or neither. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

The Village

May 1993 •English

A village is ruled by the church, but is filled with hypocritical sinners who constantly spy on each other. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2008.

The Substitute

December 1961 •English

Simple story about the man who goes to the beach and uses inflatable objects for all of his needs. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

Pianissimo

December 1963 •English

An experimental animated short film in which a piano plays a song and the keys, hammers, and various other parts of the piano are different colors. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

Motion Painting No. 1

December 1947 •English

Motion Painting No. 1 is a 1947 experimental short animated film in which film artist Oskar Fischinger put images in motion to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, BWV 1048. It is a film of a painting (oil on acrylic glass); Fischinger filmed each brushstroke over the course of 9 months. In 1997, this film was selected for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

Requiem

January 2012 •Japanese

The Further Adventures of Uncle Sam

December 1971 •English

Uncle Sam has been living peacefully in the American southwest, running a gas station. But when terrorists kidnap the Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam teams up with an eagle to go rescue her. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

Sugar Walls Teardom

May 2016 •English

Sugar Walls Teardom reveals the contributions of Black womxn’s wombs to the advancement of modern medical science and technology.

Voyage to Next

October 1974 •English

Mother Earth and Father Time converse about the choices humans make. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

Composition in Blue

June 1935 •German

An abstract film in which every motion of coloured shapes is in strict synchronization with music. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

Drifter

August 2022 •English

An astronaut is detached from his space station, taken into an infinite drift throughout the universe. Freed from time and space, DRIFTER is confronted with the void. He takes a dive into the unknown, in search of the ultimate freedom.

Circles

May 1933 •English

One of the first color films in Europe, made with the Gaspar Color process.

So Much for So Little

January 1949 •English

Little Johnny Jones, to be born in the next year, is shown growing to a ripe, healthy old age, thanks to the efforts of his local public health officers. But without them, he might be one of the 5% or so that dies in the first year. The price for the public health service: about 3 cents a week. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.

Don Quixote

November 1934 •English

A comically ridiculously altered version of the classic tale, in which Don Quixote is victorious over his imaginary enemies and emits Tarzan-like yells of triumph. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

The Story of a Hare Boy

December 1975 •Estonian

A psychedelic Soviet/Estonian animation short. A hare boy doesn't want to go to sleep in the evening. His mother tries to scare him with a fox, a wolf and a bear, but he is not afraid of any of them. Suddenly, a small mouse appears on the floor - and the hare boy goes quickly under the blanket.

War Story

September 1989 •English

This claymation short film uses a real interview for dialogue. Bill Perry relates stories about his youth, his tilted house, and adventures during WWII in Bristol, England during the blitz. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

Hen, His Wife

May 1990 •Russian

Extraordinarily detailed and beautifully drawn animation of a bizarre and surreal world; the domestic life of a fat man, his wife, a sort of oversized obese chicken, and their child/pet, a slug-like creature with a human head. This expressionistic and interior vision of Soviet animator Kovalyov is like an animated Eraserhead. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, Academy War Film Collection, in 2007.

Psychedelic Blues

April 2015 •English

Animated documentary of the founding of The Holy Modal Rounders - the first group to use the term psychedelic in recorded music.