'Oskar Fischinger was the great transitional figure between the European avant-garde cinema of the 1920s and 30s and its American version, which first appeared in the 1940s, and remains with us in much altered form today. Working first in Munich, Berlin, and then Hollywood, Fischinger influenced and continues to influence (more than ten years after his death) filmmakers throughout the world. The Fischinger filmography contains more than fifty items, of which at least thirty are finished films produced independently for personal expression and communication. According to his biographer, William Moritz: 'Fischinger chose to concentrate his creative efforts on attempting to develop a new, wholly cinematic language or communication system, and the best vehicle for this seemed to him (to be) non-objective animation.' In order to do this, Fischinger had to function both as an artist and as an inventor who could create the tools and techniques to realize the artist's vision. His astonishing successes in both roles brought him international acclaim early in his European career, resulting in an invitation to work at Paramount Studios. Moving on to MGM and Disney, where he figured prominently in the early planning of FANTASIA, Fischinger became increasingly disenchanted with the creative restrictions inherent in the factory- like studio system. Continuing to work on his own through the 1950s, Fischinger completed some of his most powerful and enduring works. This program will include an extensive sampling from both his European and American periods.'[Source: FilmEx Program Notes, 1978]