The Adventures of Achmed and The Gang (ANTHONY BEVILACQUA)

Lotte Reiniger was born in Berlin in 1899. She had a wealthy family/upbringing and as a result, was enabled to pursue a career in film/animation at a considerably young age. She later went on to develop the concept of Silhouette films, contributing such classics as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to start. Along with her endeavors using silhouette visuals, Lotte would also incorporate such styles as Strata-cut Animation, sand displays and puppetry into her work. Then, in 1926, with the help of her background designer Walter Ruttman, Reiniger released her first and last feature film entitled "The Adventures of Prince Achmed". The film's running time was an exact 65 minutes and received unanimous acclaim from spectators. Unfortunately, Hitler's rise to power in the 1930's prompts Reiniger to move to Great Britain out of fear for her own personal safety, and due to circumstances beyond her control, she never finishes another feature film. However, Lotte Reiniger still went on to create over seventy short pieces of work throughout the course of her lifetime; she died in 1981.