The first part of the animated cartoon project "Hoffmanniada" will be shown today in St. Petersburg. Works by the famous German tale-teller have been animated by the notable Russian artist and sculptor Mikhail Shemyakin. He has designed the puppets, landscapes, and the settings for the project.
      
      The first viewers will have a chance to see the characters of the tale not only on the screen: all the 22 puppets featured in Hoffmanniada have been brought to the premiere venue. It took the animators not less than a month to create each of the puppets.
      Shemyakin has been working on the project for about five years already. Old technologies are being used for the cartoons, without resorting to computer animation.
      
      The complete version will be on general release in two years.
      
      Source: news.ntv.ru