9Silent Africa
Union of South Africa1,2
The Artist’s Dream/The Artist’s Inspiration (1915) is considered the first animated film made in South Africa and was produced by African Film Productions. Directed by the American Harold Shaw,3 it tells the story of an artist’s animated drawings and includes cartoons and live action. The protagonist was Dennis Sentry (a cartoonist for the Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Times), along with star actress Mabel May. Sarienne Kersh describes it as ‘a sophisticated drawtoon about an artist who draws a beautiful woman in a park. He then dreams a subsequent series of events in which his drawings come to life’.4 It is a self-reflexive work that challenges viewers’ perceptions of reality and illusion and invites ...
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