A Long and Sour Bio:
 
             For Ed Ackerman, film making began when he was three years old in the year 1960 in Edmonton Canada.  “Snippy the Dog” an animated black and white television program, that no one has ever heard of, (made with just scissors and paper), set Ed’s course, for life.  Short films from the National Film Board of Canada, set Ed’s course for life too.  The films of Norman Mclaren and Arthur Lipsit created life, presented life and were in themselves instructions on how to make films.   Although growing up in Winnipeg, was an influence in itself,  “A chairy Tale”, “Lines Horizontal” and “Very Nice Very Nice” were the films of enlightenment. Little film recipes.

             In 1977 encouraged by Leon Johnson coordinator of the  Winnipeg Film Group, Ed started his first film. Beginning as a Senior Citizen’s film making workshop the residents of the Sharon Home shared their live stories and molded plasticine into characters and painted miniature sets to make “Sarah’s Dream” a 5 minute short about a young girl dreaming of life in the new country.

             In 1980 interrupted by one year of film school, at Ryerson Poly Technical Institute  “Sarah’s Dream”, was completed in1980 along with “Live Studio Sound” (live creation of the sound track), and “5¢ A copy” (a film made on the Wpg. Film Group photocopier wit Greg Zbitnew) and were presented at the Yorkton Short Film Festival.

             1982,  back in Winnipeg, Ed began a film that was to become a life long project.  With help from the Manitoba Arts Council, Canada Council, and the NFB the film “Once Upon a Typewriter” tells a story about a typewriter telling a story about two letters that run away from the alphabet. The technique is animated typing on paper.  Along the way, Ed produces Sesame street animation:

1983    “Faim Farm”
1984    “What About the Boots”
           “Hockey Outfits”
         and fatefully follows his wife in 1985 to her home village of Teeswater Ontario.

1986 “Primiti Too Taa”  a three minute nonsense (sound) poem adapted from the work of Kurt Schwitters, made in collaboration with Colin Morton.  “Primiti Too Taa”  went on to win festival prizes at Rimouski, New York, Ann Arbor and Oakland and has played in the Toronto Festivals three different years.  With one foot in Teeswater and one foot in Toronto sharing an office with Bruce McDonald with the help from the Ontario Arts Council and the CBC again using the typewriter animation technique, another Sesame Street short is made along with a 35 mm and 70 mm IMAX version of “Primiti Too Taa”

1988  Sesame Street  “Bird Cat Dog”
         Primiti Too Taa 35 mm version
         Primiti Too Taa 70 mm Imax Version
           (retyped by Herwig Gayer)
            Imax Distributes “Primiti Too Taa”
 

From this point, Ed falls into a hole and off of the planet.
Although some films get finished, the 1990’s are barren.

1992     “Smokey The Bear” (30 sec.)
         “Smokey the Bear” (15 sec.)
             (award winning U.S. public service announcements using the typewriter animation technique.)

1993     “Two Taa Too”  (sequel)
         “Innocent Vision”  (23 min documentary about how children see the world through their own photographs.)

             Ten years of custody battles, kid napping, denial of access, and estranged from his three children and family are all consuming.

1999     “End of Family” (a family history film project begins)
2000     3D Imax (animation tests)
2001     3D Drawing Program (in development )
             Direct drawing on film invention (in development)
          primititootaa.com Website (in development)
             Six Imax 3D scripts and tests (in development)
            including: “Once Upon A Typewriter”.

“Primiti Too Taa”  and “Two Taa Too”  in September 2001 in Portugal.  “Primiti Too Taa” 70 mm Imax version of in September-October 2001 in Chicago playing with the academy award winning “The Old Man and the Sea”.  And after September 11th.,Where is “Snippythe Dog” when you really need him?