Haus für Poesie

Sa 20.10. 19:45 Saal 2

This Flashback will be devoted to experimental avant-garde films and animations from the late 1920s and the 1940s. It begins with Combat de Boxe (B 1927) by Charles Dekeukeleire after a poem by Paul Werrie. In L’Etoile de Mer (F 1928) by Man Ray lines from Robert Desnos’ 1928 poem »La place de l’etoile« are faded in on boards. »Chad Gadjo« is an enchanting animated film made in1930 by Rudi Klemm and film pioneer Julius Pinschewer based on the poem and folk song »Chad Gadya« which is sung on Seder evening at the end of the Haggadah. The first and probably most filmed poem is »Twas the Night Before Christmas« (1823) by Clement Clarke Moore. The Americans William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made a Tom und Jerry cartoon in 1941 using this poem, which in 1942 was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Probably the most famous American pioneer of the experimental film was Maya Deren. She is being represented by her film »Meshes of the Afternoon« (USA 1943), featuring Alexander Hammid. She used a poetic film language in her films, which was the model for later film makers.