One of the legends of contemporary animation, Yuri Norstein (b. 1941) made his name with the series of animated shorts he directed for family audiences in the 1970s that are notable for their almost Chekhovian, tragicomic mood. Norstein’s wistfulness and signature technique of manipulating celluloid cut-outs on a multi-plane animation stand are showcased in Tale of Tales (1979), his masterful poetic amalgam of childhood memories, fears for the present and hopes for the future.