(Source:Toronto Star)
On May 22, the prestigious Cannes film Festival will showcase the works of Norman McLaren (1914-1987) as part of its Cannes Classics program. Thirteen of his best known shorts, such as the Oscar-winning Neighbors, Hen Hop, and Blinkety Blank (which won a Palme d'or in 1955) will be presented in a 90 minute reel. The annual Cannes Classics program profiles a great filmmaker whose work is currently being restored.
"The people who have been honoured prior to McLaren were (Spanish surrealist Luis) Bunuel and (filmmaker Jean) Renoir, so we're into the right company," says National Film Board chairman Jacques Bensimon.
McLaren's distinctive animation work was a staple of Canadian school reel-to-reels during the 50's, 60's and 70's. He experimented with image and sound, developing techniques for combining animation with music. His revolutionary animation techniques, which frequently involved him literally painting or scratching film stock, earned praise from people like Pablo Picasso and George Lucas.
When Picasso first saw McLaren's Hen Hop, he said, "At last, something new in the art of drawing!"
French filmmaker Francois Truffaut once wrote to McLaren, telling him, "I was amazed and also very moved. I had tears in my eyes watching your films."
The NFB will release Norman McLaren: The Master Edition on DVD in France this June, and in Canada this fall.
