Attend Thief and the Cobbler Screening

Once upon a time, there was an animated movie like no other. The Thief and the Cobbler was Richard Williams' dream project, on which he spent twenty-five years. He intended it to be his masterpiece. The film was never completed as intended.


Over twenty years later, Richard Williams is screening his workprint of the film publicly for the first time ever, at the Academy on December 10th. He has not even spoken publicly about the film in all this time.


My name is Garrett Gilchrist. I have spent over seven years researching, collecting, and restoring the animated work of Richard Williams. I painstakingly restored The Thief and the Cobbler from existing scraps and released The Recobbled Cut of the film, the most recent version of which (The Mark 4) is viewable on Youtube at TheThiefArchive.


This version represents two years of work and is still considered a work in progress. The Recobbled Cut has gotten a lot of attention and has rehabilitated the reputation of this film, introducing it to a new generation of fans.


I have never met or spoken to Richard Williams. I have never seen Richard Williams' entire workprint on 35mm film. Very few people have. I believe the specific version he's screening has not been seen publicly before.


I would like to attend this screening. It would in some ways represent the culmination of years of work for me, and is a major victory for all of us who've worked hard to bring this film back into the spotlight.


I debated about whether to ask for help here, then decided that asking won't do any harm. There isn't much time left. I have very little money, and I live on the East Coast. I would need a last-minute plane ticket to Los Angeles, and funding to survive for a few days there.


This is an all-or-nothing campaign. If at least $1200 is not raised, no money will be charged and the trip won't happen.


Once upon a time, there was a Golden City ...