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Eight new shorts celebrating Canadian performing arts excellence launch June 2 at 8 p.m., ET, at NFB.ca. In 10th year of partnership, NFB’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards collection totals 84 films.

PRESS RELEASE
02/06/2018


(Photos of the 2017 Recipients taken from the GGPAA website)

June 2, 2018 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Launching Saturday, June 2, starting at 8 p.m., ET, eight new short films by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will celebrate the achievements of Canadian performing arts legends at NFB.ca—as this year’s laureates are honoured at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards in Ottawa.

For 10 years, the NFB has sought out accomplished Canadian directors to find the right combination of filmmaker, concept, and award recipient—producing portraits of Canadian performing arts legends that stand on their own as innovative short works, while serving as a lasting tribute to Canadian creative excellence.

The NFB has produced 84 of these films since 2018 through its partnership with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. Portraits of talented and passionate Canadian artists and performing arts champions, these inspired works of short filmmaking can all be enjoyed free of charge at NFB.ca.

Films

The Haunts of Murray McLauchlan is a profile of Murray McLauchlan by Toronto-based director, screenwriter and producer Michael McNamara, in which this legendary recording artist shares music and stories, as well as the spirits that still inhabit the studio where he records in Toronto’s Kensington Market. Produced by Justine Pimlott (Ontario Studio).

An interview with celebrated choreographer Ginette Laurin takes on a new dimension when a young dancer explores her work in gravity-defying fashion, in Quebec filmmaker Jean-François Caissy’s Ginette Laurin: Front and Centre. Produced by Johanne Bergeron (Documentary Studio).

Nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards for his debut feature, Jason Buxton offers audiences a glimpse into the creative process of Angela Hewitt, one of the world’s leading pianists and interpreters of Bach’s music, in SOLO: A Portrait of Angela Hewitt, as she transforms the famed composer’s notoriously mathematical work into a musical experience that approaches the spiritual. Produced by Rohan Fernando (Quebec & Atlantic Studio).

In Andrew! Alexander!, directed by Academy Award nominee Josh Raskin (I Met the Walrus), Andrew Alexander returns to his roots as a taxi driver, shepherding Second City alums on a trip down memory lane as they delve into everything from Andrew’s early years to creating the hit show SCTV and building a global comedy empire. Produced by Maral Mohammadian and Jelena Popovic (Animation Studio).

Montreal filmmaker Robin McKenna’s portrait of Geneviève Bujold is inspired by the filmmaking aesthetic of her friend, Michel Brault. Geneviève Bujold: Art = Life evokes Brault’s observational and improvisational approach in a stylized, black-and-white look at the actress that’s both intimate and introspective. Produced by Dominic Desjardins (Canadian Francophonie Studio).

In her joyful portrait of Tegan and Sara, filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming (Window Horses) animates the formative days and musical career of the Calgary-born recording artists, whose remarkable journey over the past 20 years has often intersected with notions of identity—as artists, as individuals, as sisters, as queer women, and as leading activists in the LGBTQ community. Produced by Shirley Vercruysse (BC & Yukon Studio).

In Capturing Captain Canada (a.k.a. Peter A. Herrndorf), a portrait of the National Arts Centre head by Tara Johns (The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom), a special investigator tries to determine if this self-professed immigrant kid could really be the nation-building super hero he’s been pursuing all these years. Produced by René Chénier (Special Projects Studio).

Co-directed by media artists Mathieu Léger and Thibaut Duverneix, Florence brings together some of the biggest names in the Quebec contemporary dance scene, inspired by the spirit of Florence Junca Adenot, whose 45-year career has included leadership roles in arts and culture. Dancers Simon Ampleman, Daina Ashbee, Marie Claire Forté, Margie Gillis, Benoît Lachambre and Andrew Tay capture her infectious vitality and impassioned life through powerful and poetic improvised performances. Produced by Hugues Sweeney (Digital Studio).

The NFB’s GGPAA film collection is produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation.

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Related Products

NFB GGPAA’s trailer

Associated Links

2018 GGPAA Recipients
Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards
National Arts Centre

Media Relations

  • Lily Robert
    Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
    C.: 514-296-8261
    l.robert@nfb.ca

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.