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15 new documentary and animation projects in production at the National Film Board of Canada

PRESS RELEASE
30/01/2023

January 30, 2023 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has greenlit 15 new productions and co-productions.

These works got underway between July and December 2022.

For more information on these and other projects currently in the works across NFB studios, visit the NFB Production web page.

Documentary

Combattantes – short film
Director: Romane Garant Chartrand
Producers: Nathalie Cloutier | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio | 100% NFB

Combattantes strikes at the heart of a hidden yet ever-present phenomenon: violence against women. In shelters or on the streets, these women fight in anonymity, displaying resilience and resistance.

Les enfants du large – feature-length film
Director: Virginia Tangvald
Producers: Élaine Hébert and Isabelle Couture (micro_scope); Nathalie Cloutier (NFB) | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio

This film explores the exotic and turbulent life of famous sailor Peter Tangvald, as his daughter Virginia seeks answers to the disastrous fate that plagues her family’s lineage.

Fredy – feature-length film
Director: Will Prosper
Producers: Yanick Létourneau (Peripheria Productions) and Nathalie Cloutier (NFB) | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio

In 2008, Fredy Villanueva is killed by a police officer’s bullet during an incident in Montréal-Nord. In revisiting this tragedy, Fredy paints a portrait of the Villanueva family while critically examining modern Quebec through a political and social lens.

Les grands débordements – feature-length film
Director: Martin Bureau
Producer: Nathalie Cloutier | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio | 100% NFB

Human beings produce, use and own more than their basic needs require. The excess share of production is consumed in the pursuit of leisure, luxury, ideology, sex and war. Martin Bureau’s doc examines this “accursed share,” as French intellectual Georges Bataille called it, in a Canadian context.

The Green Horse – short film
Director: Alanis Obomsawin
Producers: Alanis Obomsawin and Rohan Fernando | Quebec & Atlantic Studio | 100% NFB

Recalling her own childhood dream, Alanis recreates the story of the Green Horse in the community of Odanak, so that young kids with special needs can understand the language and importance of dreams.

Je m’appelle Daniel  – short animated documentary
Director: Daniel Léger
Producer: Christine Aubé | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio | 100% NFB

Using a technique known as fumage, this animated short takes us inside the artist’s head during a manic episode, shedding light on a troubled time in his life and showing us a unique side of his existence.

Lendemains urbains – feature-length film
Director: Nadine Valcin
Producers: Christine Aubé | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio | 100% NFB

How can we ensure that cities of the future will be inclusive, equitable and welcoming? This documentary explores possible solutions with the aim of inspiring citizens to demand a brighter future for their cities.

Moon Noonk Édouard – short film
Director: Jessie Short
Producers: Christine Aubé  | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio | 100% NFB

The story of Édouard Beaupré, a.k.a. the Willow Bunch Giant, has been told by many. Now a member of his family is giving one community the opportunity to reclaim both his story and his identity as a Michif man.

Mulroney – four-part series
Director: Matthew Rankin
Producer: Pierre-Mathieu Fortin | Quebec, Canadian Francophonie & Acadian Documentary Studio | 100% NFB

This four-episode documentary series by director Matthew Rankin profiles former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney, observing his image through the prism of his TV appearances and the politics, culture and personalities of his time.

The Stand – feature-length film
Director: Christopher Auchter
Producer: Shirley Vercruysse | BC & Yukon Studio | 100% NFB

The story of a peaceful protest and how the small matched up against a giant. In 1985, the Haida led a campaign to stop logging on a territory they had designated a protected zone.

There Are No Words – feature-length film
Director: Min Sook Lee
Producers: Sherien Barsoum and Chanda Chevannes | Ontario Studio | 100% NFB

There Are No Words is a film about family, memory and cultural identity.

Animation

1983 – short film
Director: Hayat Najm
Producer: Marc Bertrand | French Program Animation Studio | 100% NFB

This poetic film portrays a woman’s trauma in the face of war, examining themes of resistance and metamorphosis through the fluctuating identity of its main character.

Graver l’homme, arrêt sur: Pierre Hébert – short animated documentary
Director: Loïc Darses
Producer: Marc Bertrand | French Program Animation Studio | 100% NFB

This documentary explores the unique approach of an artist who garnered acclaim for his meticulously rendered, one-of-a-kind scratch films and on-the-spot creations.

Hypersensible – short film
Director: Martine Frossard
Producer: Marc Bertrand | French Program Animation Studio | 100% NFB

When a teen loses her parents in a traffic accident, the trauma sends her on a turbulent, surrealistic journey that forces her to deal with her hypersensitivity to other people and the world.

The Last Glacier – short film
Director: Wahid Ibn Reza
Producer: Teri Snelgrove | BC & Yukon Studio | 100% NFB

Set in the future, this animated short captures the final journey of three animals that are left behind when human beings abandon planet Earth.

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Associated Links

NFB Production web page

French version here | Version française ici.

Media Relations

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    The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is one of the foremost creative centres in the world. As a public producer and distributor of Canadian content, a talent incubator and a lever for Canada’s creative sector, the NFB produces nearly one hundred titles every year—from socially engaged documentaries and auteur animation to groundbreaking interactive works and participatory experiences. It was among the first cultural organizations to make clear commitments to gender parity; to launch an action plan with the goal of supporting Indigenous perspectives; and to establish concrete actions and targets that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to serving as a reference point around the world for digitization and preservation practices, the NFB ensures the long-term conservation of its works as part of the audiovisual heritage of all Canadians.