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Gobelins Shorts Pay Tribute to Pioneering Women Animators

Tributes created for Annecy 2015 recognize female animation pioneers Mary Blair, Alison De Vere, Evelyn Lambert, Claire Parker and Charlotte Reiniger.

‘Claire’ directed by Alix Arrault, Jules Durand, Arina Korczynski, Margo Roquelaure and Ines Scheiber.

Students from Gobelins l’école de l’image created tributes recognizing pioneering women in animation at this year’s Annecy International Animated Film Festival, which took place June 15-20.

Shining a spotlight on women filmmakers, the 39th edition of the festival featured an all-female jury and programs of films by women directors. As in past years, students from Gobelins created opening sequences to start each screening, but this year each short film paid tribute to female animation pioneers Mary Blair, Alison De Vere, Evelyn Lambert, Claire Parker and Charlotte Reiniger.

Mary directed by Michiru Baudet, Cécile Carre, Viviane Guimarães, Fanou Lefebvre and Léni Marotte:

Mary Blair was one of Walt Disney’s most original and beloved designers and art directors. Her distinctive designs and dazzling color palette are reflected in classic Disney animated films such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan as well as theme park attractions at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney Resort.

Alison directed by Adrien Calle, Leïla Courtillon, Martin Hurmane, Nathan Otaño and Jules Rigolle:

Alison De Vere made a name for herself as a background artist for the Beatles animated film Yellow Submarine. She later moved on to create powerful personal short films such as Café Bar, Mr. Pascal (which won the Grand Prix at Annecy) and The Black Dog.

Eve directed by Simon Anding, Elena Dupressoir, Lucas Durkheim, Paul Regnier and Diane Tran-Duc:

Evelyn “Eve” Lambert was a Canadian animator and director who collaborated with Norman McLean and also worked as a sole director on projects that include: Maps in Action, The Impossible Trap, Begone Dull Care and A Chairy Tale. Lambert also served as Technical Director of the National Film Board of Canada.

Claire directed by Alix Arrault, Jules Durand, Arina Korczynski, Margo Roquelaure and Ines Scheiber:

An animator and engineer, Claire Parker is best known for inventing the Pinscreen, which is one of the first devices ever to produce animation by reconfiguring a set of individual picture elements (later called pixels) that are then filmed frame by frame. Parker also shared directing credit with her husband, Alexandre Alexeieff, on Pinscreen films Night on Bald Mountain and The Nose, to name a few.

Lotte directed by Hadrien Bonnet, Nicolas Capitaine, Charlène Chesnier, Céline Desoutter and Samuel Klughertz:

The foremost pioneer of silhouette animation, Charlotte “Lotte” Reiniger was an animator who made nearly 60 films in her career, which were comprised mostly of fantasy and fairytale stories that suited her intricate, imaginative technique. Her most famous work is The Adventures of Prince Achmed, which is considered the first full-length animated film.

(via Women In Animation)