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Celebrate Canada Day virtually with online NFB films and activities. Three NFB works featured in the Canada Day Celebration Kit—plus seven new films online.

PRESS RELEASE
23/06/2020

June 23, 2020 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

With Canadians looking to celebrate Canada Day in a way that’s fun and safe for themselves, their family and their community, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is ready for July 1 with a great selection of online films and interactive activities for people of all ages.

NFB in the Canada Day Celebration Kit

Three NFB interactive works are being featured as part of the Government of Canada’s online Canada Day Celebration Kit, with entertaining and creative activities for the whole family:

  • First Photo Here (2020) – Peace Tower activity pack
    Curated by Vancouver filmmaker Joella Cabalu
    Instagram project, NFB Digital Studio, Vancouver
    Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/first-photo-hereExclusively for Instagram, this project focusses on new arrivals to Canada and the first photos they share with family and friends back home.
  • Parliament: The Virtual Experience (2020) – Peace Tower activity pack
    Creative team: Émilie F. Grenier, David Drury, Dpt. and Stéphane Poirier
    15-min. online experience; downloadable VR experience/360° streaming video, Library of Parliament/NFB Digital Studio, Montreal
    Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/parliamentWith Centre Block closed for long-term rehabilitation, this innovative co-production opens the doors to the historical seat of Parliament. Available in an online version and as a VR experience for the Oculus GO headset that can be downloaded for free or viewed in 360° streaming-video format on the web.
  • NFB StopMo Studio – Maple Leaf activity pack
    Designed by Mivil Deschenes and Jean-Sebastien Beaulieu, working with acclaimed animator Patrick Bouchard
    DIY animation appCreate stop-motion animated films with ease. Comprehensive and easy to use, the app allows you to shoot your own film and share it with friends in just minutes.

Plus, seven new docs premiering at NFB.ca

Also, seven NFB documentaries offering diverse looks at life in Canada will be debuting at NFB.ca in July, joining the NFB’s extensive catalogue of more than 4,000 titles online!

Starting July 1

Becoming Labrador by Rohan Fernando, Tamara Segura, Justin Simms (2018)
Feature-length documentary (70 min), NFB Quebec & Atlantic Studio, Halifax
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/becoming-labrador

Filipino workers make a place for themselves in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador—travelling halfway around the world for jobs they hope will offer their families new opportunities and a better life.

Highway to Heaven by Sandra Ignagni (2019) (available in Canada only)
Short documentary (16 min), NFB BC & Yukon Studio, Vancouver
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/highway-to-heaven-a-mosaic-in-one-mile/

Shot on location along a one-mile section of No. 5 Road in Richmond, the film takes a look at BC’s “Highway to Heaven,” which hosts a multitude of faiths—including Buddhist temples, a Sikh gurdwara, Hindu and Swami temples, Shia and Sunni mosques, Christian churches, and Jewish, Islamic and Christian schools.

Starting July 7

Because We Are Girls by Baljit Sangra (2019) (available in Canada only)
Feature-length documentary (85 min), NFB BC & Yukon Studio, Vancouver
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/because-we-are-girls

A conservative South-Asian family in small-town BC must come to terms with a devastating secret: three sisters were sexually abused by an older relative beginning in their childhood years. After remaining silent for nearly two and a half decades, the sisters decide to come forward not only to protect other young relatives, but to set an example for their daughters, as well.

Starting July 13

5 Shorts Project – 4th edition:  À l’affût/Attuned (Steve Verreault/Sébastien Dave Tremblay), Butte/Mounds (Nicolas Paquet/Tom Jacques), Il va faire beau demain/It’ll Be Nice Out Tomorrow (Guillaume Lévesque/Antoine Létourneau-Berger) and Manèges nocturnes/Night Fair (Cynthia Naggar/Gueze)
Short docs for the web (4 x 4–6 min), Paraloeil/NFB French Program Documentary Studio, Montreal

The NFB’s 5 Shorts Project shines a spotlight on the talents of independent artists from Quebec’s regions. Working with Rimouski’s Paraloeil production centre, filmmakers from Bas-Saint-Laurent collaborate with sound artists on four short films that push the envelope of documentary film language by questioning the genre’s conventional uses of sound.

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French version here | Version française ici.

Media Relations

  • About the NFB

    For more than 80 years, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has produced, distributed and preserved those stories, which now form a vast audiovisual collection—an important part of our cultural heritage that represents all Canadians.

    To tell these stories, the NFB works with filmmakers of all ages and backgrounds, from across the country. It harnesses their creativity to produce relevant and groundbreaking content for curious, engaged and diverse audiences. The NFB also collaborates with industry experts to foster innovation in every aspect of storytelling, from formats to distribution models.

    Every year, another 50 or so powerful new animated and documentary films are added to the NFB’s extensive collection of more than 14,000 titles, half of which are available to watch for free on nfb.ca.

    Through its mandate, its stature and its productions, the NFB contributes to Canada’s cultural identity and is helping to build the Canada of tomorrow.