Known for his innovations in the use of live-action and animation, the director Karel Zeman is sometimes described as the ‘Czech Méliès’ and has been noted as an influence on film makers such as Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, and Jan Švankmajer.

The first of two Karel Zeman films being shown this month, The Fabulous Baron Munchausen is a witty and colourful look at the adventures of the famous Baron (a notorious teller of tall tales). Often regarded as Zeman’s masterpiece, the film is a celebration of human imagination whose action takes in destinations as varied as 18^th century Constantinople and the surface of the moon.