16th May 2010
ANIMATED WORLDS presents The Films of Yuri Norstein

Yuri Norstein (born September 15th, 1941)is an award winning Russian animator best known for his shorts ‘Hedgehog in the Fog’ and ‘Tale of Tales’. He originally trained as a cabinet maker and painted as a hobby. He joined Soyusmultfilm, the USSR’s largest film studio, in 1961 to learn animation.

Norstein’s work is lyrical and non-linear evoking a sense of mystery and nostalgia, something the director himself refers to as visual memory. Dealing with childrens’ subjects and nursery rhymes, his complicated and sad films are more for an adult audience reflecting on their youth rather than for children. working with small, largely uncredited production team, he is generally assisted by his wife, Francesca Yarbusova, cameraman Alexander Zhukovsky and composer M.Meerovich. After leaving Soyusmultfilm in 1986, Norstein has been working on a film based on Gogol’s ‘The Overcoat’, funding it’s production through the sale of his drawings and through teaching.

The 8th episode of Animated worlds will include the screening of all of Yuri Norstein’s films to date. Animation filmmaker Martin Pickles will be present to introduce the audience to the life and works of Yuri Norstein.

For information on Martin Pickles go to: www.martinpickles.com

The British Dental Association Museum was one of six medical history museums in a participatory film making scheme. Medicine at the Movies, funded by NIACE (The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education), seeks to engage different groups in communicating by film.

As part of the project, Bhavesh Hindocha, a live-action filmmaker and Pooja Pottenkulam, animation filmmaker, led a group of 7 mentally disabled participants through the making of their own live action and animation films.

The final outcome is a 15 minute documentary that records their experience of the workshops held at the British Dental Association. The animation shorts are included within the longer film.

Feliz, coloured cut-glass animation on paper, colour, 36 seconds, 2010
Savaas, paper cut out animation, colour, 30 seconds, 2010

Screenings
Medicine at the Movies Premier, Thakray Museum, Leeds, Saturday, 13th March, 2010

Related Links
www.bda.org/museum
www.elfrida.com
www.loudminority.co.uk

A group of 6 year old primary school students were asked to each think of a feeling that they could not reavel to each other. They then created characters out of plasticine and pipe cleaners. After the characters were created, students paired up and were asked to use their characters to express the secret emotion that they had chosen, using stop-motion animation. Once the first of the pair had expressed their emotion, the second student would react to the first student’s emotion with their own character and secret emotion.

The still and the two films included are ‘Nauseous vs Nauseous’ and ‘Tired vs Happy’.

Screenings
Osmani Primary School, Tower Hamlets

http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/34580/

34581/210689/020709visionawards.htm

Synopsis
The Village of Moo is kept standing because the inhabitants speak Moomoo. If they stop speaking Moomoo, the village would crumble and fall. A little boy realises that his grandfather has died and that he is the last person in Moo. Cracks begin to appear on the walls…

About the Project
This film was written in collaboration with Ambjorn Elder for the 2009 Commonwealth Awards. The theme for the Vision Awards was Global Challenges and The New Generation. The story was based on disappearing languages and how the new generation played an important role in keeping disappearing languages alive.

Every 14 days a language dies. By 2100, more than half of the languages spoken on Earth- many of them not yet recorded, may disappear, taking with them a wealth of knowledge about history, culture and the natural environment.

The images below are a few sketches from the project.

Screenings and awards
2009, Highly commended Prize, The Commonwealth Vision Awards ceremony, London

About the Project
In 2008, ceramic artist Martha Todd, created a oral protection kit for celebrities who were hated by the public. The prototype for the kit was made specifically for Jeremy Kyle. This instructional video for the kit was shot using a digital handicam and edited on Final Cut Pro.

Screenings and awards
2008, Interim Show, Royal College of Art
2009, The 23 Granfield Street award for best home video

About the Project
This video was edited using after effects and Final Cut Pro> the footage was shot by children

The images below are a few sketches from the project.

Screenings and awards
2008, Inner west

About the Project
The videos were shot using Sony HD camera and edited with After effects and Final Cut Pro

Credits
direction and post-production
Pooja Pottenkulam
production assistant
Joe Pottenkulam

The images below are a few sketches from the project.

Screenings and awards
2008, Armaec

About the Project
This video was edited using after effects and Final Cut Pro

The images below are a few sketches from the project.

Screenings and awards
2008, none yet

External links
www.creative-partnerships.com
www.designheroine.co.uk

About the Project
Creative Partnerships is the UK Government’s flagship creative learning programme, designed to develop the skills of young people across England. They support thousands of innovative long-term partnerships, between schools and creative professionals- from architects to scientists to multimedia developers and artists.

As part of one of their projects, Design Heroine, an architecture firm, worked with children in Stormont School, Hackney, East London. Through various creative execrsies, the children were asked to illustrate changes they would make to their school to make it more fun.

Walking On Water With Fish In It is a animated film illustrates a conversation between two students about one of their ideas for an underground fish tank. The conversation was first recorded on a DAT recorder and then the film was animated using paper cut-out characters from a collage created by them.

The film was used as documentation material by Design Heroine and Creative Partnerships.

About the Project
The Royal College of Art is the world’s only wholly post-graduate degree course in the field of Art and Design. Nap was directed and animated independently as a graduation film at the RCA. During the graduation show, licensing rights of the film were sold to Channel 4 for a period 5 years.
The images below are a few sketches from the project.

Screenings and awards
2007-2012, Three Minute Wonder screening on Channel 4, UK
2009, Videoholica Film Festival, Varna, Bulgaria
2008, Krok Festival, Russia
2008, Animafest, Zagreb, Croatia
2007, Roxy Bar and Screen, London, UK
2007, Institute of Contemporary arts, London, UK
2007, Muestra International de Cine de Animation, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
2007, Exposures UK Student film Festival, Manchester, UK
2007, EmergeandSee, Berlin, Germany
2007, Special Mention, Tricky Women, Vienna, Austria
2007, Vienna Independent Short Film Festival, Vienna, Austria
2007, Second Prize, Monstra De Sagunt, Valencia, Spain
2007, Animated Dreams, Black Film Festival, Tallinn, Estonia
2006, Generation, Royal College of Art Degree show, London