This film is part of Free
The Clown and His Donkey
A pioneering effort in bringing shadow puppetry to the cinema
Overview
The ancient art of shadow play made a natural transition to the cinema. Though it is most associated with the German animator Lotte Reiniger and her 1926 silhouette animation feature The Adventures of Prince Achmed, artists like Charles Armstrong had already made films with the technique. Unlike others he uses the negative image to create white character on black backgrounds. He made at least half a dozen films, including a WWI series “Armstrong’s Trick War Incidents”, but they do not appear to survive. The surviving German title is evidence of the films’ international appeal.
Related
A Colour Box A Colour Box
Advert 1935 4 mins
Part experimental cinema, part advert for the parcel post service, always joyful.
Spherical Harmonics Spherical Harmonics
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2014 5 mins
Spherical Harmonics is about the strange power of the CG image. It's a fantasy under construction, full of digitally created memories, counterfeit physics and controlled accidents.
Noddy Goes to Toyland Noddy Goes to Toyland
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1963 12 mins
How can you not say yes to Noddy? It’s all he can say to you.
Shadows! Shadows!
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1928 3 mins Silent
Meet Sammy, his dog Sausage and their creator, early British animator Joe Noble, whose inventive streak sees him chased by his own shadow
Johnny Barleycorn Johnny Barleycorn
Documentary 1950 1 mins
A delightful animated appeal to help bringing in Scotland’s harvest, made by the legendary Lotte Reiniger.
Ubu Ubu
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 19 mins
Farting and swearing and violence – oh my! Albert Jarry’s controversial play translates beautifully to splattered inks in Geoff Dunbar’s award-winning animation.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.