Children First!
A collection of 7 animation short films inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Each NFB award-winning film, in their peculiar way, deals with children's rights and addresses various aspects of the Convention. - From IMDB
Michèle Cournoyer
Břetislav Pojar
Eugene Fedorenko
Martine Chartrand
Yvon Mallette
Gerald Wexler
Janet Perlman
Manon Barbeau
Francine Desbiens
Diane Chartrand
Jacques Vallée
Casts & Crew
Marc-André Coallier
Sarah Polley
Also Directed by Michèle Cournoyer
Exploration of the connections between sex, love and technology.
In this short animation, a girl is so carried away by her love of music that she forgets about her household chores. Her father tells her to finish the dishes. Instead of washing them, she turns them into musical instruments, and he finally recognizes her talent. Based on Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to develop their talents and abilities to their fullest potential.
A woman plays out her existence on the screen of her life. Alcohol is the essence of her being. She imbibes her youth and becomes completely absorbed by the desire to satisfy her thirst. Moving from parties to binge drinking, pleasure to distress, joy to delirium, she lets herself be lulled by the undulating waves of bottles. She floats in the intoxicating liquid, sees her childhood re-emerge, and feels as if she is a tiny fish lost in an ocean of madness. Her craving for alcohol engenders a burning passion. Drinking becomes a fatal embrace... On the verge of drowning in the torrent of this insane obsession, will she find the strength to rise to the surface?
An animated short film by Canadian director Michèle Cournoyer explores the impact of war on women, their bodies and their families. Bringing a feminist sensibility to a contemporary issue, it looks at what happens when war insinuates itself inside the very being of a woman—she who once gave life.
In this animated short, a woman, taking on her lover's fantasies, adorns herself in her finest feathers and assumes a seductive but demeaning role. Caught up in his own game, the man plays on to the bitter end--a cruel game in which love is stripped of its golden glow, leaving only the naked reality of dependency and desperation.
An exotic dancer recalls an incident from her childhood where she was physically abused by a male visitor.
Also Directed by Břetislav Pojar
This adaptation of a book by Jiří Marek consists of four animated episodes that are interconnected by a live-action element.
A giant statue of the letter "E" arrives in the park. One man sees it as "B"; they are preparing to cart him off to the looney bin when a doctor arrives and determines the man needs glasses. Then the king arrives; he also sees "B". He tries on the glasses, sees "E", and pins a medal on the doctor then has his goon squad come and bash on everyone's head until they too see "B"
A scientist develops an unusual pair of eyeglasses which allows the wearer's mind to see things objectively rather than the usual subjective manner.
Bad moods, denial and constant resentment are spreading like an epidemic, gradually transferring from the individual to the entire society.
A look at the series of sacrifices of a man who wants to save up for his object of desire: an automobile.
Also Directed by Eugene Fedorenko
This animated short follows an unwanted baby who is passed from house to house. The film is the Canadian contribution to an hour-long feature film celebrating UNESCO's Year of the Child (1979). It illustrates one of the ten principles of the Declaration of Children's Rights: every child is entitled to a name and a nationality. The film took home an Oscar® for Best Animated Short Film.
Weary of daily life in his native village of Chelm, Shmendrik sets out on a quest for knowledge that brings him to a new Chelm, a place remarkably like the old Chelm, down to the chicken's reminiscent clucks. Based on a Jewish folk tale, Village of Idiots is the story of Shmendrik's new life and its uncanny closeness to his old life.
Also Directed by Martine Chartrand
Four children who have picked up all sorts of annoying behaviour from watching television decide instead to create their own games. This animated film for five- to eight-year-olds is intended to awaken children's critical sense regarding the media messages aimed at them.
This animated film by Martine Chartrand (Black Soul) recounts the friendship between a young Félix Leclerc and Frank Randolph Macpherson, a Jamaican chemical engineer and university graduate who worked for a pulp and paper company. An inveterate jazz fan, Macpherson inspired Leclerc, who wrote a song about the log drives and entitled it “MacPherson” in honour of his friend. Paint-on-glass animation shot with a 35mm camera.
Painted directly on glass, Black Soul is an exhilarating immersion into the heart of Black culture—a whirlwind voyage through the defining moments of Black History.
Also Directed by Yvon Mallette
A family of seven lives on a New England island with nobody else. One winter, they got stranded because the bay froze over. This didn't much matter to them, but someone on the mainland remembered them and launched an aerial rescue mission; an unfounded story that one boy had appendicitis results in a larger rescue mission, with the situation rapidly escalating into a major catastrophe all because of the rescue mission.
An amusing diagnosis of big-city growing pains, Boomsville is an ironic view of town planning, or rather, the lack of it, and what has happened to our cities as a result. Done in cartoon animation, the film traces the growth of the typical city, from a tiny settlement in the vast North American wilderness to the car-clogged metropolis that so many cities are today. Film without words.
Also Directed by Janet Perlman
Penguins Behind Bars is an Adult Swim special, adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Janet Perlman, that aired only once on July 20th 2003. The Short follows Doris Fairfeather, a female penguin who is famed for robbery by her boyfriend and sent to an all-girl prison.
20 years special edition of the movie program "L'enfant au grelot", containing Jacques-Rémy Girerd's masterpiece in a remastered version. The tale is preceded by three short films selected by Folimage.
Who is Monsieur Pug? Why, a dog with bad cholesterol and high blood pressure! And a dog who loves his pie and ice cream. Who relaxes by making origami. In other words, definitely not your ordinary pooch! For he’s also a paranoiac, convinced he’s the target in a vast conspiracy, and pretending to be a pet, the better to hide from his pursuers. Schizoid, perhaps? Hmm… but is Monsieur Pug even a real dog to begin with?
Everyone loves Egg! Egg is a super-cool barely-moving quality cartoon property dude with no feet and no face. Along with his trusty invisible sidekicks Druid Droid and Spirit Spork, Egg travels the galaxy looking for zany adventures with other quality cartoon properties. Who knows what crazy thing will happen next? This is Egg's first screen test. Watch it over and over! New exciting adventures are coming soon!
When an advanced race of giant lobsters from outer space land on Earth, no one can figure out why they've come. A complete failure to communicate on both ends leads to panic and pandemonium. Why are they here? What do they want? In this clever throwback to the ‘50s B-movie, a small neighbourhood learns the value of clear communication.
Animators were asked to submit ideas based on the theme, "Do the Right Thing". This story is based on the director's experience of losing her chair while working in the National Film Board's animation studio. This film also explores the many uses for a carrot.
Herb won’t share his chemistry set with Jimmy. Do you think that’s right? I don’t.
The official signal film for Anima Mundi 2019
This short film brings together animated interpretations of 4 poems by great Canadian wordsmiths: “From the Hazel Bough” by Earle Birney, “Travellers Palm” by P.K. Page, “Death by Streetcar” by Raymond Souster, and “A Said Poem” by John Robert Colombo.
Cinderella has to stay home while her evil stepsisters go to the ball. You know the rest except everyone here is a penguin (even the mice that become the "horses") and the lost slipper is more like a swimming flipper.
Also Directed by Francine Desbiens
A shocking film about antipersonnel land mines and a barbarous complacency. Every year hundreds of men, women and children are wounded or killed by antipersonnel land mines. My Child, My Land denounces the use of this hideous weapon. It particularly denounces the complicity of the industrialized nations. If such a horror exists, it is because someone has invented it, and someone else has manufactured it. Can we imagine such barbarity behind the faces of our neighbour? our father? ourselves? This hard-hitting animation film demands that we ask ourselves these questions.
A little deaf girl who plays against an arrogant boy in a chess tournament is unaffected by his scorn but responds warmly to the attentions of a young poet. Based on article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates disabled children's right to enjoy a full and decent life. A film without words.
Children will delight in this introduction to primary colours and their combinations--an animated film in which little elf-like creatures make all the discoveries. They emerge from three circles painted red, yellow and blue. When they venture into a circle of another colour they find that they, too, change colour. Their every movement and posture is designed to convince and amuse.
A kindly old man sends his grandson off to see the world. From the window of the train, the child discovers the problems plaguing this planet and imagines solutions to promote the happiness of children everywhere. A synthesis of Volume 1 of the Rights from the Heart/Droits au c÷ur collection, this animated film for five- to eight-year-olds puts the issue of children's rights in an international context.
In this short animation a single room is the setting for a lyrical dance through time about family roots. The objects in the room swirl, rearrange and change themselves to reflect the passing seasons, years and generations. As Victorian Christmas fantasies give way to computer-age realities, the procession of objects reaffirms the values that endure the vagaries of fashion and the ravages of time.
In this charming animated short, a musician drops his son off at day care and returns home to work. Suddenly, the telephone rings. His son leaves a message on the answering machine, "I love you, Daddy." The father tries to concentrate on his composition, but the telephone rings throughout the day, the messages becoming more poignant. Touched by his child's love, the musician, at last, begins to play a beautiful melody on his clarinet. His imagination soars into the clouds and beyond, eventually gliding down to Earth on the beam of a spotlight, where he performs before a full audience. Every seat is occupied by his son, who sings along, "La, la, la, la..."
A satirical, updated take on the classic Jean de La Fontaine fable.
Also Directed by Diane Chartrand
A young man has lost his will to live. He feels trapped, like a mouse in a cage endlessly spinning his wheel. His prison is an internal one.
In this animated film for five- to eight-year-olds, a group of schoolchildren are amazed to discover that one of their classmates does not have enough to eat. With the help of their teacher, the children come to understand that his hardship affects them all and that the fight against poverty requires solidarity and sharing. Film without words.