The 22nd Annual Animation Show of Shows
This 22nd edition comprises 10 films -- nine recent, along with one restored classic -- which deal with both the anxieties and hopes of a world faced with a seemingly endless series of existential crises. All are inventive, their tone ranges from the whimsical to the profound; their techniques, from stop-motion to hand-drawn to computer-aided.
Frédéric Back
Gil Alkabetz
Jo Meuris
Dina Velikovskaya
Piotr Milczarek
Maja Gehrig
Gísli Darri Halldórsson
Geoffroy De Crécy
Jeanne Apergis
Patrick Smith
Also Directed by Frédéric Back
A group of schoolchildren playing in an idyllic natural landscape are visited by a mysterious magician who entertains them with his transformations. But he soon proves sinister as he begins to transform the landscape into a grim, unsmiling metropolis.
A film inspired by Aboriginal legends about the passing of the seasons
A film that pays tribute to the various celebrations in Québec on St-Jean-Baptiste Day.
The environmental history of the St. Lawrence River and the impact of human exploitation of it.
This film tells an Algonquin legend about animals on a quest to capture fire from the god of thunder and return it to their human friends.
An illustration of beings in a world where countless plant and animal species rapidly become extinct, and resources run dry due to greed. However, it is possible to avoid disaster by conserving and sharing what we have.
This short animation takes as its protagonist a wooden rocking chair that serves as a tool to delve in no more than 15 minutes on a journey through the history of Quebec in the last century.
The story of four children from around the world who try to rescue the sun from an evil sorcerer.
This animated short film tells the story of a shepherd who repairs the ruined ecosystem of a secluded valley by singlehandedly cultivating a forest over a thirty year period.
Also Directed by Gil Alkabetz
Fun short movie about wolf, goat and cabbage.
5 shorts for kids, about the sky and stars
The film tells the story of a tree that during the course of the year receives a rather radical pruning of its foliage. In the course of this simple story we go through the four seasons of the year; The transfer from season to season is accentuated by the music, as well as by the change of colors from silent grays of the winter to vivid green in the summer. The comic effect in the film is achieved by the contrast between the lazy and sleepy character of the tree and the active and jumpy character of the barber.
The sun rises, as it does every morning. But today, it discovers that it is not as welcome as it had hoped to be.
The film examines the case of Yakov L (Yankale), a minor civil servant who one day fails to show up for his job. We will learn more about the hero, his life, childhood and relationship with his mother. And in contrast to the sharp square figures depicting office life, rounded objects from the hero's childhood, we see the image of the conflict between the world of our desires and our responsibilities.
"It's hard to imagine what will be better, it's much easier to think what will be worse." The video for the song by the Israeli songwriter and singer Tonya Gertner was shot by the famous Israeli-German director Gil Alkabets based on his paradoxical and absurd drawings that speak of anxiety and uncertainty in the future.
An animated series for adults starring the signs of the Zodiac. Leo eats his friends, Virgo succumbs to "shopping mall madness", and Taurus has an affair with a giant cow. The readings were done by two New York astrologers (found on the Internet). Believers in astrology will find Lucky Stars as reliable as their favorite horoscopes while scoffing skeptics will have their fun as well. The amusing characters and absurd situations portray astrology as an entertaining game of careers, money, luck and love.
In Israeli director Gil Alkabetz's playful study in contrasts, a white bird and a black monster compete for common territory, but, as they soon find out, it's a zero-sum game.
Also Directed by Jo Meuris
Books are everywhere in Meena's house - in cupboards, drawers, and even piled up the stairs! Her parents love to read, but Meena never even opens a book! When her cat Max accidentally knocks down a huge stack of books, heroes, heroines, and animals with attitude come to life and pandemonium reigns. Meena finds a unique solution to get the characters back in the books, and nothing, as they say, is the same after that. Based on the story by Manjusha Pawagi. The Girl Who Hated Books is part of the NFB's Talespinners 2 collection.
A little girl falls in love with a beautiful horse named Aurora. A bittersweet story about love, friendship, and growing up.
This short animation is bleak and apparently grim, but it is an assertive statement on self-determination and the fundamental need for both dark and light.
Also Directed by Dina Velikovskaya
This story is about a mother who has given so much that it looks like she has nothing left... but the life opens up the new opportunities
Kukuschka is a bird, who follows the sun. It seems to her as if she already could touch It, but the Sun is still far away. Suddenly she is not alone anymore, but for two it's even more difficult to keep going so fast. She will reach the Sun, may be tommorow may be the day after.
A daughter leaves the family home, but remains connected to where she’s from, which has consequences for everyone.
Also Directed by Piotr Milczarek
About collective consciousness, how not being accountable for our actions pushes us to follow the crowd, and could lead to tragedy. The consequences of collective hypnosis for those fighting against it and on the crowd.
Also Directed by Maja Gehrig
Suppressed feelings in a golden frame. Seven apples practice a passive-aggressive gesture - finally no longer quiet.
During a PowerPoint presentation, statistical diagrams are breaking free from their restrictive coordinates. A trip into the sensual world of statistics begins.
Two lovers are in a car. They are going on holiday, and it's a long drive. The windshield wipers set the rhythm. Their fantasies and daydreams lead them into life- and love-threatening situations.
Queen Bum is a bedtime story invented on the spot by a father and daughter. Teeter-Totter-Town is a Queendom right up in the sky. The subjects Triangle and Fourangle are suffering from up and downs and would like to get rid of their Queen. The child tries to keep the story going, the father would like to end it. Finally the child manages to fall asleep.
Also Directed by Gísli Darri Halldórsson
Six people. Living in one building but following different paths. Each gets through the day in their own way – and with their own voice.
Tells the story of Kókó the killer whale in Vestmanneyjar
Also Directed by Geoffroy De Crécy
Completed before the global lockdown, "Empty Places" is an ode to the melancholy of machines.
Also Directed by Jeanne Apergis
But what can they see through this hole? Crowds of people, individuals, individuals in a crowd, partition walls, buildings, bugs, an intruder, the battle... The beginning or the end of a non-systematic system.