Event

2008 Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema - QUIRINO CRISTIANI

Who made the first animated feature film?

Today virtually forgotten, film pioneer Quirino Cristiani discovered the craft of animation on his own, far from the experimental artists of Europe or the commercial constraints and glamour of Hollywood.

ʻ;El Apstolʼ; opened in a cinema in Buenos Aires in 1917. Such was its success that a second feature was commissioned the following year.

In 1931, Cristianiʼ;s genius and industry resulted in another breakthrough when he produced ʻ;Peludpolisʼ;, the first animated feature film with sound.

Tragically, both of these ground breaking films were destroyed in a series of fires. This documentary was sparked off by the recent discovery of a never before seen interview with Cristiani, filmed in Italy when he visited the land of his birth after living in Argentina for 81 years. It is the only interview on camera ever made with him.

Following the footprints of his life, this documentary chronicles the remarkable achievement of an animation master including 2 shorts that were rediscovered during the making of this film: a satirical sketch from 1919 and an amazing Making-of Peludpolis from 1931.