Lotte's Shadow

Animation by Katherine Sharpless

Sound Design by William N. Lowe

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I made a short film about the life of Lotte Reiniger because I believe she, and other early contributors to animation and female artists in general, should be remembered for their accomplishments. By making a stop motion shadow animation in her style, not only is her story being recorded, but so is her aesthetic. The paper cutting and stop motion details were taxing, but with the help of modern software and the short nature of my project, I barely scratched the surface of what Reiniger was able to do.  While her accomplishments and contributions to film were vast, the story ends abruptly, as her legacy was forgotten in the shadows of big commercial animation.