December 13, 2023 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada is returning to the Festival Plein(s) Écran(s) with two award-wining shorts: Audrey Nantel-Gagnon’s documentary Fire-Jo-Ball, selected as the closing film in the Quebec Competition, and Janice Nadeau’s animated short HARVEY (NFB/Folimage), which will screen in the Family Section. The festival takes place online from January 16 to 28, 2024, with some in-person screenings programmed as well.

Quick Facts

Quebec Competition – Closing film

Fire-Jo-Ball by Audrey Nantel-Gagnon (16 min 54 s)
Produced by Nathalie Cloutier for the NFB’s Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/fire-jo-ball

• Jo-Ann, a 57-year-old bartender, dreams of becoming a singer and actress. Oscillating between spectacular and intimate, between extra and ordinary, Jo-Ann infuses her daily life (and the film) with true main-character energy. At the crossroads of genres, Fire-Jo-Ball paints a portrait of a woman who loves all things rosy, even if her life isn’t always so.
• Fire-Jo-Ball will be available online on Friday, January 26, for a period of 24 hours before the festival’s closing night. Taking place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 27, at La Remise karaoke bar (540 Boucher Street, Montreal), the event has a film-inspired theme and will be open to the public.
• This short doc had its world premiere at the REGARD festival and its Montreal premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, where it won the SLA Location Coup de cœur It was also selected to screen at the Quebec City Film Festival and the Trouville Off-Courts Film Festival in France.
• Audrey Nantel-Gagnon’s first film, Shirley Temple (UQAM, 2018), was screened around the world and won several significant awards. Moving between documentary and fiction, the filmmaker places her characters at the centre of her work. Her approach revolves around intimate moments and human relationships, resulting in a filmmaking style that’s both accessible and dynamic. Fire-Jo-Ball is the product of a close collaboration between the director and the protagonist, who allowed themselves to dream together.

Family Section

HARVEY by Janice Nadeau (9 min)
Co-produced by the NFB (Marc Bertrand) and Folimage (Reginald de Guillebon), with the support of the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. Head of Development: Corinne Destombes (Folimage).
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/harvey

• An animated short film adapted from the graphic novel of the same name, written by Hervé Bouchard and illustrated by Janice Nadeau (éditions de La Pastèque), HARVEY depicts a young boy who candidly recalls the spring day when his world turned upside down. Filled with original little touches and told through the eyes of a child with an overflowing imagination, this luminous work poetically examines bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent.
• A program of short films for families, including HARVEY, will be screening free of charge at theatres in five cities across Quebec on the morning of Sunday, January 21. It will be shown at Cinéma Public in Montreal, Cinéma Paramount in Rouyn-Noranda, La Maison du cinéma in Sherbrooke, Cinéma Paraloeil in Rimouski and Cinéma Beaumont in Quebec City.
• HARVEY is continuing to make the rounds of the festival circuit after a world premiere at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France, which was followed by more than 75 selections at festivals across the globe, among them REGARD in Saguenay, Stuttgart, Annecy, Animafest Zagreb, New York and Ottawa. It has earned 9 awards and mentions to date.
• Janice Nadeau has illustrated numerous books and is a three-time recipient of Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award. She also directed the animated films No Fish Where to Go (NFB, 2014, with Nicola Lemay) and Mamie (NFB/Folimage, 2016), which were shown at more than 50 international festivals and won several awards.

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French version here | Version en français ici.