International Tournée of Animation
Encyclopedia
The International Tournée of Animation was an annual touring program of animated films selected and assembled from films from many countries around the world and which existed from about 1970 to the late 1980s. As released to cinemas, college campuses, and art museums and centers across the United States
, a typical Tournée program ran about 105 minutes and consisted of 15 to 24 animated films in the 16mm format, each running from 1 or 2 minutes to 15 or 18 minutes each in length.
, 1 other independently-made Canadian film, 2 each from Italy
, the Netherlands
, and the UK
(both from Richard Williams Animation), and 1 each from Yugoslavia
, Bulgaria
, Poland
, and Japan
. Altogether over twenty annual programs were prepared and presented; the 17th International Tournée of Animation was devoted entirely to the films of the National Film Board of Canada.
(The Los Angeles branch of ASIFA, the International Animated Film Association
) decided to put together an international animation program to be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
. It was almost impossible to see quality animation in the US at that time. Prescott Wright
became active with the group when he joined the American Film Institute
in 1969 and, having worked previously in film distribution, he was asked to head the project when it was decided to show the program in other cities.
Under Wright's guidance, the program became known as the "International Tournée of Animation" and, by late 1970, he began to book the program at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
, university campuses, and other cultural institutions around the US.
The animators were offered a generous contract as part of their agreement to enter their films in the Tournée. As producers, Wright and his associates received 50% of the gross, while the remaining 50% was split among the artists. About half of the money going to the animators was split evenly between each filmmaker and the remaining amount was split based the length of each short film. This meant that a very short film got slightly less one which was a minute or two longer.
in France
, the Zagreb
Festival (which was then in Yugoslavia
), the Ottawa International Animated Film Festival in Canada
after 1976, and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival
in Japan
. Until the Iron Curtain collapsed, ASIFA helped bridge the gap between East and West by helping animators from Eastern Europe attend festivals in the West, to visit studios in the Europe and North America, and to show their films in-person. Prescott Wright and filmmakers John Halas
along with the husband-and-wife team of John Hubley
and Faith Hubley
plus many others worked hard to further international relations and to arrange for these screenings in cities with ASIFA chapters.
chain, but gradually seen in many smaller "art houses" across the country. In 1986 Prescott Wright sold the rights to the Tournées to the Expanded Entertainment group in Los Angeles which continued to organize them for several years with Wright's guidance.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a typical Tournée program ran about 105 minutes and consisted of 15 to 24 animated films in the 16mm format, each running from 1 or 2 minutes to 15 or 18 minutes each in length.
Typical program content
An example of the typical range of countries represented comes from the 12th Tournée in 1978 which contained 24 films (including specially produced opening titles), 10 of which were from US sources, 3 from the National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, 1 other independently-made Canadian film, 2 each from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(both from Richard Williams Animation), and 1 each from Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Altogether over twenty annual programs were prepared and presented; the 17th International Tournée of Animation was devoted entirely to the films of the National Film Board of Canada.
History
About 1966, several members of ASIFA-HollywoodASIFA-Hollywood
ASIFA-Hollywood, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California, USA, which is a branch member of the "Association Internationale du Film d'Animation" or "ASIFA"...
(The Los Angeles branch of ASIFA, the International Animated Film Association
International Animated Film Association
The International Animated Film Association or ASIFA is an international non-profit organization founded in 1960 in Annecy, France by the best known animation artists of the time such as the Canadian animator, Norman McLaren...
) decided to put together an international animation program to be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
. It was almost impossible to see quality animation in the US at that time. Prescott Wright
Prescott Wright
Prescott J. Wright was best known as the longtime producer and film distributor of the annual touring programs of animated films from around the world known as the International Tournée of Animation...
became active with the group when he joined the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
in 1969 and, having worked previously in film distribution, he was asked to head the project when it was decided to show the program in other cities.
Under Wright's guidance, the program became known as the "International Tournée of Animation" and, by late 1970, he began to book the program at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, university campuses, and other cultural institutions around the US.
The animators were offered a generous contract as part of their agreement to enter their films in the Tournée. As producers, Wright and his associates received 50% of the gross, while the remaining 50% was split among the artists. About half of the money going to the animators was split evenly between each filmmaker and the remaining amount was split based the length of each short film. This meant that a very short film got slightly less one which was a minute or two longer.
Sources of films shown in Tournees
Many of the films were acquired as a result of Wright's travels to a number of the international animated film festivals sponsored by ASIFA. These included festivals such as the Annecy International Animated Film FestivalAnnecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
Festival (which was then in Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
), the Ottawa International Animated Film Festival in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
after 1976, and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival
Hiroshima International Animation Festival
The International Animation Festival Hiroshima is a biannual animation festival hosted in Hiroshima, Japan.The festival was found in 1985 by Association International du Film d'Animation or ASIFA as International Animation Festival for the World Peace...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Until the Iron Curtain collapsed, ASIFA helped bridge the gap between East and West by helping animators from Eastern Europe attend festivals in the West, to visit studios in the Europe and North America, and to show their films in-person. Prescott Wright and filmmakers John Halas
John Halas
John Halas was a Hungarian animator. . He learned his craft under George Pal, but launched his own career in 1934, and two years later moved to England where he and his wife Joy Batchelor founded Halas and Batchelor.Over the years they made over 70 short subjects during the war, using propaganda...
along with the husband-and-wife team of John Hubley
John Hubley
John Hubley was an American animation director, art director, producer and writer of traditional animation films known for both his formal experimentation and for his emotional realism which stemmed from his tendency to cast his own children as voice actors in his films.- Biography :Hubley was...
and Faith Hubley
Faith Hubley
Faith Hubley was an animator, known for her experimental work both in collaboration with her husband John Hubley, and on her own following her husband's death.-Biography:...
plus many others worked hard to further international relations and to arrange for these screenings in cities with ASIFA chapters.
Increased visibility through theatrical screenings
In the mid-1970s, the Tournée increased its visibility by being screened in cinemas, initially with the Landmark TheatresLandmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres is the largest art house movie theater chain in the United States. It is owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner through their 2929 Entertainment. The chain shows mostly first run independent, foreign film, and restored classics though some Landmark theaters also show more mainstream...
chain, but gradually seen in many smaller "art houses" across the country. In 1986 Prescott Wright sold the rights to the Tournées to the Expanded Entertainment group in Los Angeles which continued to organize them for several years with Wright's guidance.