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Rythmetic is a 1956 Canadian short animated film directed by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart for the National Film Board of Canada.

It is a non-verbal lecture on the subject of mathematics and one of McLaren’s longest animated works.

McLaren wanted to make a truly international film about the inadequacies of communication between peoples of different cultures and languages. To this end, he used the most understood method of communication, Arabic numerals.

Filmed without a camera or microphone and using McLaren’s scratch sound system, the film is a ‘crazy dance’ of mechanical actions and anthropomorphic gestures made by arithmetical figures and symbols; we hear rhythmic music with clicks or scratching sounds made by ink directly painted on the soundtrack. The filling of the background with bright figures against a dark background evoke a classroom blackboard and the teaching process. Classified as an educational film, it is also regarded as a visual and auditory work of art.

Awards

• 6th Berlin International Film Festival, Berlin: Silver Bear, Short Films, 1956
• Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh: Diploma of Merit, 1956
• Rapallo International Film Festival, Rapallo, Italy: First Prize, Abstract Films, 1957
• International Review of Specialized Cinematography, Rome: Diploma of Honour, 1957
• Chicago Festival of Contemporary Arts, University of Illinois Chicago: First Prize 1957
• Golden Reel International Film Festival, Film Council of America, New York: Silver Reel Award, Avant-Garde and Experimental, 1957
• Durban International Film Festival, Durban: Certificate of Merit, 1957
• Johannesburg International Film Festival, Johannesburg: Certificate of Merit, 1957

References

1. "Rythmetic". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
2. Utako, Kuriharo. "Norman McLaren's Animated Film Rythmetic as Temporal Art" (PDF). bigakukai.jp. The Japanese Society for Aesthetics. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
3. Utako, Kuriharo. "Norman McLaren's Animated Film Rythmetic as Temporal Art" (PDF). bigakukai.jp. The Japanese Society for Aesthetics. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
4. "6th Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
5. "Rythmetic". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2023.

External links

• Watch Rythmetic on the NFB website

Rythmetic in the NFB collection catalog

• Rythmetic at IMDb 

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• 1956 films
• 1956 animated short films
• Canadian animated short films
• Animated films without speech
• Films directed by Norman McLaren
• National Film Board of Canada animated short films
• 1950s Canadian animated films
• Short animated film stubs
• 1950s animated film stubs
• Pre-1960 Canadian film stubs
• 1950s film stubs