Where is Mama?

Te Wei, Qian Jiajun｜1960｜DCP｜Colour｜Sound｜15 min

China’s first ink animation draws on images taken from Qi Baishi’s ink painting of small animals and uses washes of ink and water, in a break from the traditional style of flat, single line painting in animation. In this award-winning and landmark work, a group of tadpoles encounter chicks, shrimps, goldfish, crabs, turtles and giant catfish during their search for their mother.

The Magical Brush

Jin Xi, You Lei｜1955｜DCP｜Colour｜Sound｜20 min.

A children’s puppet animation adapted from a fairy tale; it was the first Chinese animation to win an international award and was directed by Jin Xi, a master of Chinese puppet films. Ma Liang, a young cowherd boy who loves to draw, is given a magic brush from an old immortal that can bring his paintings to life. However, when a greedy government official finds out about it, he orders Ma Liang to use the brush to draw gold treasure, and the two men engage in a series of magical fights.

Monkeys Fish the Moon

Zhou Keqin｜1981｜DCP｜Colour｜Sound｜10 min.

A papercut animation adapted from a folk fairy tale; it captures the essence of traditional Chinese shadow plays. A group of greedy monkeys attempts to pluck the moon from the sky but are unsuccessful. They then manage to capture the moon’s reflection in the water inside the shell of a piece of fruit, but while fighting over it, the ‘moon’ falls to the ground and breaks into pieces, dashing their hopes.

Three Monks

Ah Da｜1980｜DCP｜Colour｜No dialogue｜19 min.

Inspired by a passage in Hou Baolin’s comic dialogue The Monk, the film is based on the Chinese proverb ‘One monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but add a third and no one will want to fetch water.’ There is no dialogue in the film, but the movements, facial expressions, and music are amusing and portray a profound message. The film was awarded the Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film) at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival.

Te Wei (1915–2010) was a Chinese animation director, screenwriter and painter. From 1935, he began creating cartoons in Shanghai, and in 1951 he directed his first animated short film, Little Iron Pillar. After The Proud General (1956), he co-directed the award-winning ink animations Where is Mama? (1960) and The Cowboy’s Flute (1963) with Qian Jiajun and received numerous awards. Other animated shorts he co-directed include The Golden Wild Goose (1976), Monkey King Conquers the Demon (1985) and Feeling from Mountain and Water (1988). After the establishment of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1957, he served as its director for many years. In 1995, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Animated Film Association.

Qian Jiajun (1916–2011) was a Chinese animation director, art designer and movement special effects artist. In 1940, he directed his first animated short film Farmers’ Joy. In 1946, he was the director and art designer of the cartoon short film, Bee Country, and later co-directed China’s first colour animated short film, Why is the Crow Black-Coated (1955), with Li Keruo. He has won numerous international awards for his solo film Chuang Tapestry (1959) and his ink animations Where is Mama? (1960) and The Cowboy’s Flute (1963), which he co-directed with Te Wei. Later works include A Deer of Nine Colours (1981) and The Happy Numbers (1983).

Jin Xi (1919–1997) was a Chinese animation director, screenwriter, and author. In 1936, he began studying in the Tianjin Art Museum’s Western Painting Department. In 1951, he was the scriptwriter for the short film Little Iron Pillar, and in 1953, he directed his first short puppet film The Little Hero. He later directed The Dream of Xiao Mei (1954), China’s first animated puppet/live action short film; The Magical Brush (1955), which won awards at five international film festivals; and Peacock Princess (1963), China’s first colour puppet feature film. Other short puppet films he directed include The Painted Elephant (1965), The Flying Horse (1975) and The Story of Afanti (1979).

You Lei (b. 1926, Shanghai) is a Chinese animation director and motion designer. In 1947, he joined the Shanghai Puppet Theatre and the puppet movement design team at the Shanghai Film Studio in 1950. In addition to The Magic Brush (1955), he has worked on over 30 puppet films, including China’s first puppet film The Little Hero (1953) and the first full-length colour puppet film Peacock Princess (1963). His most renowned film is the puppet film The Cock Crows at Midnight (1964), an adaptation of the children’s book of the same name.

Zhou Keqin (born in Shanghai) graduated from the Animation Department of Shanghai Film Academy in 1962 and joined the Shanghai Animation Film Studio in the same year, where he worked as an animation designer and director. In 1989, he became the director of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio. He has directed more than ten animated films including The Bamboo Shoot in the House (1976), Panda’s Department Store (1979), Monkeys Fish the Moon (1981), Little Panda Learns Carpentry (1982), Sambar (1985) and Calabash Brothers (1986). He is currently an executive council member of the China Animation Association.

Ah Da (1934–1987), formerly known as Jingda Xu, was a Chinese animation director, screenwriter, art designer, and special effects artist. In 1956, he was the set designer for the animated short films I Know and The Proud General. In 1958, he wrote and directed his first animated short film Catch Britain, and in 1964, he was the art designer for the animated short film Collective Surplus. In 1978, he directed the animated short film One Night in the Art Gallery; in 1979, he directed Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, the first colour widescreen animated feature film in China; and in 1981, he directed the animated short film Three Monks. In 1985, Jingda Xu became the first Asian council member of the International Animated Film Association.