A pinscreen is a white screen filled with thousands of pins, which can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The further the pins protrude, the darker the screen becomes. The technique is extremely labour intensive but enables a rich graphic image. Alexandre Alexeïeff (1901-1982) and his wife Claire Parker (1906-1981) are the pioneers of the pinscreen. They invented it in the 1930s with the aim of recreating the velvety blacks of mezzotint engraving in the medium of animation. The pinscreen contains thousands of movable pins embedded in a frame, which can be pushed or pulled back using various tools to create relief designs. With precisely designed lighting, these images blossom in a rich array of grey tones which, when photographed frame by frame, produce animated works that are unique to the medium.

The retrospective brings together (nearly) all films made in this animation technique to date. Complementing this wealth of cinema are some of the key documentaries that introduce the pioneers and shed light on the history of this inspiring form of animation. Special thanks go to Jean-Baptiste Garnero and Sophie Le Tétour of CNC, France for their assistance in putting this programme together.

The retrospective will be accompanied by an exhibition, dedicated to Jacques Drouin (1943-2021) in Slovenian Cinematheque titled Shadow Tamers: On the art of the pinscreen (more about the exhibition here) and a round table debate at AnimatekaPRO in Old Power Station – Elektro Ljubljana on 2nd of December 2025 at 13.00, where the curators of the retrospective Jean-Baptiste Garnero and Sophie Le Tetour (CNC) will delve into the history, fun facts, and methods of pinscreen animation with the attending filmmakers.

Novice