Caught in Moving Sand: The Films of Gisèle and Nag Ansorge
The Films of Gisèle and Nag Ansorge
Schedule
Saturday, January 25, 2025
Run Time: 50 min
Discover the work of Gisèle and Nag Ansorge, two pioneers of Swiss animation who developed sand animation to create an original and mesmerizing body of shorts that includes their groundbreaking The Raven (1967), as well as Fantasmatic (1969), Anima (1977) and Sabbath (1991), their last film before Gisèle passed away.
The Ansorge’s sand animation films have been restored by the Swiss Film Archive and the Omnimago Laboratory in Germany, with support from the Memoriav Association. The color variations, which are sometimes noticeable from one shot to another, have been preserved.
Followed by a Q&A with Ray Kosarin.
Part of Animation First’s focus on Swiss Animation
This program will be preceded by a 20-second bumper film created by Brassart-MOPA students.
Alunisson
Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1969, Switzerland, 3min
Everyone wants to shoot for the moon, but not all make it; some people use other people to achieve their goals, and others make it on their own.
Anima
Gisèle Ansorge, Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1977, Switzerland, 4min
Since the beginning of time, men have carried an image of a woman within themselves. This image gradually fades and changes with the passage of life, from birth to death.
Das Veilchen
Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1982, Switzerland, 3min
“The Violet” is the title of a ballad taken from a play by Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Instead of sticking to the narrative, however, this version parodies situations where people in love fail to connect.
H.L.M Quiproquo
Dominique Delachaux-Lambert, Ernest Nag Ansorge, 2005, Switzerland, 8min
A succession of strange events unites neighbors together in suspicion. They discover that an animal, not a human, is responsible.
Le Petit garçon qui vola la lune
Gisèle Ansorge, Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1988, Switzerland, 7min
It’s always the same story: you shoot for the moon and then you don’t know what to do with it.
Les Corbeaux
Gisèle Ansorge, Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1967, Switzerland, 4min
Having attempted to live off the beaten track, a man is hunted down.
Les Enfants de la laine
Gisèle Ansorge, Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1984, Switzerland, 5min
Alone and with no roof over her head, a grandmother knits a house and two little children out of her wool.
Sabbat
Gisèle Ansorge, Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1991, Switzerland, 10min
Sabbat is a dream-like version of the Sabbath in the Middle Ages. One full moon night, the women leave home to meet with the devil in the woods.
Smile 1+2+3
Ernest Nag Ansorge, 1976, Switzerland, 7min
Smile 1: All men have her name on their lips, all men desire her. Some have gotten close to her or even captured her heart. The question is: Does she really exist?
Smile 2: Having decided once and for all to get rid of his complex, Oedipus determines his own birth and death.
Smile 3: A poem inspired by “The Arabian Nights,” following a virgin and the demon Efrit.
Venue
Event Pricing
Gisèle and Nag Ansorge
Recognized worldwide for their work, pioneers of Swiss animation Gisèle Ansorge (1923-1993) and Ernest “Nag” Ansorge (1925-2013) originally trained as natural scientists (Gisèle was a pharmacist, and Ernest was a mechanical engineer). Fascinated by cinema and animation, they first used animation as a therapy to help patients with mental health issues. Inspired by the work of Jiří Trnka, they started experimenting with a Super 8 camera and puppets. They also used drawings and paper, but they are best known for developing sand animation, a technique that uses black quartz sand and stop-motion techniques to animate forms shaped with a paint brush. After testing several types of powders (including coffee, flour, and sugar), they chose quartz sand for its physical properties. Their first film using sand animation, The Raven (1967), premiered at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and fascinated experts and audiences alike. Sand became the Ansorges’ hallmark. With Gisèle focused on shaping the sand, giving it meaning and style, and Ernest’s work on capturing the images and harnessing the technical aspects of filmmaking, the couple symbiotically created an outstanding body of works, including Fantasmatic (1969), Anima (1977), and Sabbath (1991), their last film before Gisèle passed away.
Together they were also deeply committed to people in need. Through their work at a psychiatric clinic, the Ansorges helped long-term patients develop and realize their own cinematic ideas. Ernest was also involved with the charitable Emmaüs international organization, creating a community in Etagnières, his home village. Ernest also co-founded the Swiss Animator’s Group, or ASIFA Switzerland, in the late 1960s, an association that supports and advocates for animation professionals and film production.
Ray Kosarin
Ray Kosarin is an animator, director, historian, and college educator. Kosarin is director and/or supervising director of a half-dozen European and American TV series, including The World of Tosh, Daria, and Beavis and Butt-Head. Kosarin’s articles on animation history and production have appeared in Animation Magazine, Backstage, The Pegboard, ANYmator, and ASIFA Magazine, and he is co-editor of Giannalberto Bendazzi’s vital and comprehensive, three-volume Animation: A World History. Kosarin has served several terms on the ASIFA International Board and continues to serve on the ASIFA–East Executive Board. Kosarin teaches animation history and production at School of Visual Arts and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
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Supporting Sponsors
Photo Credit: Le Petit Garáon qui vola la Lune
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