Lotte Reiniger (1899 - 1981) was a German silhouette animator and film director. As a child, she was fascinated with the Chinese art of silhouette puppetry, even building her own puppet theater so that she could put on shows for her family and friends. As a teenager, Reiniger fell in love with cinema, first with the films of Georges Méliès for their special effects, then the films of actor and director Paul Wegener.
The first film Reiniger directed was Das Ornament des verliebten Herzens (The Ornament of the Enamoured Heart, 1919), a short piece involving two lovers and an ornament that reflected their moods. The film was very well received. She made six short films during the following few years, all produced and photographed by her husband Carl Koch.
Here you can see a Lotte Reiniger silhouette film called Snow-white and Rose-red from 1954.
And here's a documentary about Lotte Reiniger.
(thanks Jimmy)
