Followed by a panel discussion with musician Hugo Max and Reiniger scholar Tashi Petter

Lotte Reiniger’s strikingly beautiful film is an early animated classic and one not just aimed at a young audience.

Reiniger’s Arabian Nights fantasy was an astonishing project to undertake for someone who was just 25 years old, particularly for a woman working in the male-dominated film industry of the time, and during a period of debilitating German hyperinflation. Her delicate silhouette animation conceals a grimmer world than Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which too often receives credit for being the first animated feature. It’s a startling, yet beautiful, reminder that fairy tales have never been just for children. The post-screening discussion will delve into the darker side and themes of this extraordinary work.