China Film Archive
Animation in film has come a long way since Disney's black and white classic Steamboat Willie dazzled audiences nearly a century ago. With seamless computer animation now the benchmark of Pixar films such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, it's easy to forget the medium's humble beginnings when frames were painstakingly hand-drawn and music and sound effects were played lived
To coincide with the annual meeting of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) in Beijing this week, 130 rarely seen animated movies will be screened at the China Film Archive (CFA). FIAF, an organization dedicated to digitally restoring films, teamed up with participating film archive organizations from 78 countries and regions to source the movies.
During the week-long event, which started Monday, Screening Treasures of World Animation, initiated and organized by the hosting CFA, will show Chinese and foreign animated movies restored especially for the occasion by 23 film archive societies from 16 countries. The films, which vary in length from one to 80 minutes and span a period of over a century, have never been shown outside of their countries of origin. CFA's deputy director Sui Xianghui said the week-long presentation will showcase the development of animation and its techniques.
The screening includes movies made at the beginning of last century, such as The Enchanted Drawing (1900) provided by the University of California Los Angeles' Film and Television Archive, the oldest available Chinese animation The Mouse and The Frog (1934) and the modern production of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (2010) provided by Japan's National Film Center and National Museum of Modern Art.
The 68th FIAF Congress winds up Saturday, with this year's meeting held under the theme of "Animation Around the World." During the conference, specialists and experts will share their knowledge of animated films and discuss challenges facing the industry including preservation and restoration of works.