A handsome prince with a flying horse befriends a witch, meets Aladdin, and battles demons to win a princess’ heart. Drawing on The Arabian Nights, Lotte Reiniger’s enchanting fairy tale is the oldest extant animated feature film, a spellbinding example of silhouette puppetry. To mark its centenary, this afternoon the Hamin Honari/Gordon Grdina Duo will improvise an entirely new soundtrack.

Honari/Grdina’s music is an exploration of the interplay between improvisation and structure, with a focus on bridging the rich traditions of Persian classical music and Arabic melodies with contemporary jazz. This dynamic duo has performed extensively, presenting their intricate and emotive compositions to audiences across North America. The fluid interaction between Grdina’s oud and guitar with Honari’s mastery of percussion results in performances that are both technically impressive and deeply moving.

Hamin Honari – Persian and Contemporary Percussion
Gordon Grdina – Oud, Guitar, Effects

Showtimes at 2pm and 7:30pm (65 min runtime)

The matinee show will be introduced by Alla Gadassik, media scholar and animation curator

Beautiful and innovative — age only adds to its brilliance and charm.

David Parkinson, Empire

A rapturous animated kaleidoscope with a more abstracted visage of the 1001 Arabians Nights tale than you could dream.

Wesley Morris, San Francisco Examiner

A masterpiece.

Jean Renoir

Co-Presented with: