One of the most profoundly influential television shows – at least, in my life – was “International Animation Festival,” a PBS presentation that aired during the mid-1970s. Hosted by Jean Marsh of “Upstairs Downstairs” fame, this weekly half-hour series was the rare program that offered a glimpse into the animation universe existing beyond the realm of the standard Saturday morning shenanigans or the old Disney and Warner Bros. shorts that dominated television.
I was in elementary school when “International Animation Festival” aired and I was deeply invigorated by the depth and scope of work that it presented. Having not seen the series since its initial broadcast a half-century ago, I can still remember many of the cartoons with great fondness.
The animated short films presented on this show spanned back to the early silent years, including pioneering works by the French filmmaker Émile Cohl’s “Fantasmagorie” (1908) and “Automatic Moving Company” (1912). It also offered contemporary works, such as Will Vinton’s Oscar-winning “Closed Mondays” (1974).
Among the shorts that resonated with me were “The Hand” (1965), a jolting allegory of totalitarian repression by Czech animator Jiří Trnka; “The Collector” (1971), a psychedelic piece from Yugoslavian animator Milan Blažeković with a “Twilight Zone”-worthy plot twist; and Antoinette Starkiewicz’s wildly stylish “Putting on the Ritz” (1974).
“International Animation Festival” included a few Golden Age of Hollywood shorts that were not part of any television package at that time. Among those titles were the whimsical 1953 UPA version of James Thurber’s “A Unicorn in the Garden” and Walter Lantz’s politically incorrect “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” (1941).
If online commentary is any indication, it appears that many people of my generation were infatuated with “International Animation Festival” and were enriched by its eclectic contents. However, I was saddened to see a recent Facebook post when someone claimed the series is now considered to be lost.
I contacted KQED, the San Francisco PBS station that produced the series, to inquire about its status. A member of its Audience Service department responded with this message: “Unfortunately, due to the transition to digital broadcasting and archiving systems, we do not have copies of this program. I will note that someone has uploaded a recording from the series onto YouTube, but unfortunately KQED does not have any official copies available to distribute or broadcast.”
Below is the YouTube recording that the station mentioned, recorded on March 23, 1975, are featuring “Passing Days” (1969) by Nedeljko Dragić and the Oscar-winning “The Hole” (1962) by John and Faith Hubley. I sincerely hope this is not all that remains of that wonderful series. Hopefully, other episodes are out there and can be made available again.