Screening: Peter and The Wolf with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at ACMI

Some great news from ACMI about an awesome stop-motion screening. See details below!

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra present:

Peter and the Wolf (2006) (unclassified all ages)

A collaboration celebrating music and film this school holidays

Tuesday 4 until Thursday 6 October 2011

This school holidays, from 4 until 6 October, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) combine to present the film Peter and the Wolf, with Prokofiev’s magical music played live in the cinema by the MSO. Each event will also include a discussion of the animation style and main musical themes used in the film.

Peter and the Wolf, produced by BreakThru Films, is the Academy Award®-winning new animated film version of Prokofiev’s children's classic and is directed by the extraordinary animation talent, Suzie Templeton.

“My desire was to create a film, which works on many levels for both children and adults, exploring our fear of and fascination with the wild beast, and witnessing a young boy discover his own strength and integrity,” Suzie Templeton said.

Peter and the Wolf has been a window into the world of orchestral music for millions who have learned to recognise the distinct sounds of instruments associated with the story’s characters, and to appreciate the way in which characters can also be identified by clearly defined themes.

Twenty-seven musicians, conducted by MSO Principal Trombone Brett Kelly, will help bring Templeton's beautiful animation to life, with sections of the Orchestra representing different characters in the film. "Prokofiev’s remarkable music is already a great favourite, but combined with such wonderful animation it is sure to leave young people spell-bound and transported to a world both familiar, and very surprising,” Brett Kelly said.

Peter and the Wolf was made using stop-frame model animation, with state-of-the-art stills cameras. The film received its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall and has had many orchestral screenings worldwide, including a premiere performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, attended by more than 9,000 people, and a special screening at Warsaw Castle.

Nominated for a BAFTA® and a Royal Television Society Award, the film won the Rose D’Or for Best Arts Program and collected the top two prizes at the world’s biggest animation festival, Annecy. In February 2008, Peter and the Wolf was awarded the Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film.

“When it comes to combining live performance and film in our cinemas, this is by far our most ambitious collaboration,” enthused ACMI Head of Film Programs Richard Sowada. “It’s rare to strike a balance between a film of such high quality, state of the art presentation and sublime accompaniment. A collaboration on this scale is really something special.”

The season of Peter and the Wolf runs 4-6 October at ACMI in Melbourne. For more information please visit www.acmi.net.au or www.mso.com.au. Tickets start from $15 and can be purchased through the ACMI website or via Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100.