NFB Film - Selections of Animations

APHASIA - MARIELLE DALPÉ | 2023 | 3 MIN 45 S | EV | LS: ENGLISH
Both striking and unsettling, Aphasia is a deeply moving foray into the heart of a devastating neurocognitive condition, one that progressively destroys the ability to speak and understand words, afflicting many people who have Alzheimer’s disease. A poetic tour-de-force with universal resonance, Aphasia encourages both individual and collective reflection.

THE FLYING SAILOR - WENDY TILBY, AMANDA FORBIS | 2022 | 7 MIN 45 S WITHOUT WORDS 
Two ships collide in a harbour, an explosion shatters a city, and a sailor is blasted skyward. With ears ringing and guts heaving, he soars high above the mayhem and towards the great unknown. This bold blend of comedy, suspense and philosophy offers an exhilarating contemplation of the wonder and fragility of existence

HOTHOUSE 13 - LOUIS BODART, LUKAS CONWAY AND NONCEDO KHUMALO FROM MONTREAL | GRACE AN AND TARUN PADMAKUMAR FROM TORONTO | KARLA MONTERROSA FROM VANCOUVER | 2022 | 6 FILMS X 1 MIN
The Hothouse theme for this edition was “100,” which filmmakers were free to use as a quantifying descriptor, a playful graphic element, a musical guide or just a creative jumping-off point. In their shorts, the young animators have channeled this theme in ways that reflect their own richly diverse backgrounds.

FLOWING HOME - SANDRA DESMAZIÈRES | 2021 | 15 MIN | OEV LS: ENGLISH
Two sisters grow up in Vietnam and are separated by the war between North and South. Their separation will last nearly 20 years, and the letters they exchange are their only way to connect. Thao and Sao Maï write about their everyday lives, their memories, the war and its ghosts.

ALAMBIC - VARIOUS ARTISTS
An initiative of the NFB’s French Animation Studio, the Alambic  collection features very short films by emerging directors. As part of an experimental creative lab, creators draw on their own imaginations and the group’s collective energy to craft unique stories in the space of a few months. 

SOLID GROUND - BEATRIZ CARVALHO | 2022 | 2 MIN 50 S | EV LS: ENGLISH
Solid Ground is a poetic and sound-rich travelogue—a personal journal that reveals the thoughts of an expatriate returning to her native land. Employing the rarely used monotype animation technique, the film reflects the personal experience of discovering different lands and feeling as though one were simultaneously at home and elsewhere.

MODERN ALCHEMY - BREN LÓPEZ ZEPEDA | 2022 | 2 MIN 40 S | OEV LS: ENGLISH, SPANISH
Strength. Challenges. Courage. Modern Alchemy depicts a quest for self-knowledge that revolves around resilience, reconstruction and rebirth. A succession of colours, each more vibrant than the last, in which one stops breathing for a moment to find a path toward inner peace. 

BY WINDS AND TIDES - BOGDAN ANIFRANI-FEDACH | 2022 | 2 MIN 24 S OFV, EST | LS: FRENCH 
Exploring the conscious, the unconscious and the self, By Winds and Tides takes a deep experimental dive into the birth of an idea—how it takes shape, how it is released. An allegorical quest, the film combines images and words into a singular sigh. 

I, BARNABÉ - JEAN-FRANÇOIS LÉVESQUE | 2020 | 15 MIN WITHOUT WORDS 
Confronted with doubt and feelings of emptiness, drunk with unhappiness and seeking to drown his sorrow, Barnabé experiences a curious metaphysical visitation; lightning strikes the spire of his church and a mysterious bird appears, forcing him to reconsider his life. What is his truth pointing him towards?

BOAT PEOPLE - THAO LAM, KJELL BOERSMA | 2023 | 9 MIN 59 S | OEV LS: ENGLISH
As a child in Vietnam, Thao’s mother often rescued ants from bowls of sugar water. Years later they would return the favour. Boat People is an animated documentary that uses a striking metaphor to trace one family’s flight across the turbulent waters of history.