Lotte Reiniger: The Adventures of Prince Achmed

This year’s EU Film Days are dedicated to the art of animation. As the German contribution, the festival presents one of the most iconic milestones in European animation history: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) by Lotte Reiniger – the world’s oldest surviving feature-length animated film.

Painstakingly created over three years using 250,000 delicate paper cutouts, layers of transparent paper, and a single-frame camera setup, the film marks a pioneering moment in animation history. Its visual intricacy and handcrafted technique continues to captivate audiences to this day.
Inspired by tales from One Thousand and One Nights, the silhouette film follows Prince Achmed on a magical flying horse as he journeys through distant lands, falls in love with the fairy Pari Banu, defends her from demons and sorcerers, and ultimately joins forces with Aladdin, whose enchanted lamp becomes key to his quest.

Told in five acts, the film explores themes of transformation and betrayal, ghostly battles and magical duels. It unfolds an ornate visual language that fuses the mythical richness of Oriental storytelling with the aesthetic traditions of Asian shadow theatre – a masterwork of early cinematic imagination.

As part of the EU Film Days, the film will be presented with Japanese subtitles and accompanied by a contemporary musical score by the Teichmann brothers (live electronics) and Leopold Hurt (zither). Their sensitively crafted and rhythmically vibrant soundtrack creates an entirely new sonic experience for this unique landmark in film history.