March 16, 2023 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada is returning to the Festival Cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke with a strong, diverse lineup of seven productions and co-productions, including the brand-new film Au-delà du papier (Beyond Paper), in which director Oana Suteu Khintirian seeks to understand the future of human memory in the age of the digital revolution. Film lovers in the Sherbrooke area will soon have the opportunity to watch these powerful, award-winning feature-length docs, which address crucial social and artistic issues and have been enthusiastically received by critics and audiences alike. The 10th Festival Cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke runs from April 6 to 13, 2023.

The NFB lineup at a glance

• Au-delà du papier (Beyond Paper) by Oana Suteu Khintirian – with the filmmaker in attendance
• Chasseuse de son (Ever Deadly) by Tanya Tagaq and Chelsea McMullan
• Je pleure dans ma tête (Les traumas par les mots)/Unspoken Tears (Trauma Through Words) by Hélène Magny – with the filmmaker in attendance
• La couleur de l’encre (The Colour of Ink) by Brian D. Johnson – with the filmmaker in attendance
• La parfaite histoire (The Perfect Story) by Michelle Shephard
• Theodore Ushev: liens invisibles (Theodore Ushev: Unseen Connections) by Borislav Kolev
• Tuer un tigre (To Kill a Tiger) by Nisha Pahuja

About the films

Au-delà du papier (Beyond Paper) by Oana Suteu Khintirian (130 min)
Producer: Nathalie Cloutier for the NFB’s Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/beyond-paper

• The director journeys around the globe to better understand how she can preserve her own heritage, both Armenian and Romanian, as well as our collective memory. The film grapples with essential questions at a critical moment in the history of the written word, as humanity’s archives migrate to the cloud. World-premiere screening in competition at this year’s International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA).

Chasseuse de son (Ever Deadly) by Tanya Tagaq and Chelsea McMullan (90 min)
Producers: Lea Marin, Anita Lee and Kate Vollum for the NFB’s Ontario Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/ever-deadly

• Avant-garde award-winning Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq, one of the most innovative musical performers of our time, leads the audience through pain and triumph in this visceral music and cinema experience. Selected to screen at several Canadian festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and winner of an award at the Yellowknife International Film Festival.

Je pleure dans ma tête (Les traumas par les mots)/Unspoken Tears (Trauma Through Words) by Hélène Magny  (75 min)
Producer: Nathalie Cloutier for the NFB’s Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/unspoken-tears

• This powerful documentary explores the psychological scars of war and highlights the importance of understanding in successfully integrating refugee children into Quebec’s schools. Selected to screen at the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague, the DOC-Cévennes festival in France and the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma.

La couleur de l’encre (The Colour of Ink) by Brian D. Johnson (105 min)
Producers: Brian D. Johnson for Sphinx Productions; Sherien Barsoum and Lea Marin for the NFB’s Ontario Studio. The associate producer for the NFB is Kate Vollum.
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-colour-of-ink

• The film uncovers the mystery and power of our oldest medium through the eyes of Jason Logan, a Toronto inkmaker. Harvesting colours from the natural world—weeds, berries, bark, flowers, rocks, rust—he makes ink from just about anything. Selected by several Canadian festivals including TIFF, and winner of an award at the Calgary Underground Film Festival.

La parfaite histoire (The Perfect Story) by Michelle Shephard (73 min 40 s)
Producers: Bryn Hughes for Frequent Flyer Films; Lea Marin for the NFB’s Ontario Studio; Michelle Shephard
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-perfect-story

• This riveting, intimate look at the relationship between a foreign correspondent and a young Somali refugee explores the psychological toll of the stories we tell. Selected to screen as a world premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival, where it won the DGC Canadian Documentary Award for the best Canadian documentary feature.

Theodore Ushev: liens invisibles (Theodore Ushev: Unseen Connections) by Borislav Kolev (78 min)
Producers: Borislav Kolev, Maria Landova and Eli Kovalev for Projector Ltd., and Marc Bertrand for the NFB’s French Program Animation Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/theodore-ushev-unseen-connections

• Theodore Ushev, the seasoned auteur behind a number of renowned animated shorts, including the Oscar-nominated Blind Vaysha, reveals his inner universe, formed by a half-century of personal experience acquired in a constantly changing world. Selected to screen at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Festival du nouveau cinéma.

Tuer un tigre (To Kill a Tiger) by Nisha Pahuja (125 min)
Producers: Cornelia Principe and Nisha Pahuja for Notice Pictures; David Oppenheim for the NFB’s Ontario Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/to-kill-a-tiger

Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. In India, where a rape is reported every 20 minutes and conviction rates are less than 30 percent, Ranjit’s decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented. The film has already won three awards, including at TIFF and the Palm Springs International Film Festival

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French version here | Version en français ici.