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In October, nfb.ca celebrates Latin American Heritage Month and offers more new content

PRESS RELEASE
29/09/2022

September 29, 2022 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

An ever-growing number of films will be available to stream for free on nfb.ca this October, including productions from the NFB’s various studios across the country. This latest selection highlights the rich heritage of Canada’s Latinx communities in this month dedicated to them, including Saturday Night by Rosana Matecki, and offers two themed channels. Hélène Magny’s feature documentary Unspoken Tears and Lori Malépart-Traversy’s animated documentary series Magical Caresses will also be launched online. These latest additions join the more than 5,500 titles already available on nfb.ca, along with our collection of some one hundred interactive works, almost all of which are available for free online viewing. Also noteworthy: the 360-degree screening of Frances Adair Mckenzie’s The Orchid and the Bee at Montreal’s Biosphère.

Starting October 5

Unspoken Tears by Hélène Magny (2022, Quebec, Canadian Francophonie and Acadian Documentary Studio)
Feature-length documentary (75 min)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/unspoken-tears

How can refugee children integrate into Quebec’s school system, given the unspeakable violence they’ve experienced? Following a psychologist specializing in conflict-related trauma, Unspoken Tears pays tribute to the admirable resilience and survival strategies of these “small adults,” whose spirit the bombs and camps have not completely crushed, at a time when it is vital to raise awareness in Western societies of migration-related issues and children’s rights. The film screened at the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague, the DOC-Cévennes festival in France and the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma.

To celebrate Latin American Heritage Month

  • Starting October 1, read the blog entry by NFB English-language collection curator Camilo Martín-Flórez, which seeks to introduce readers to the different phases of NFB films made in Latin America or by Latin Americans, from the mid-1940s until today. This blog post features films that have been assembled for two new themed channels launching on ca: 77 Years of Latinx-Canadian Cinema (1945–2022) and NFB Abroad: Latin America On Screen.

  • Starting October 10: Saturday Night by Rosana Matecki (2021, Quebec and Atlantic Studio)
    Short documentary (15 min)
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/saturday-night

    A short documentary essay on solitude, filmed in Spanish and narrated by filmmaker Rosana Matecki, Saturday Night offers a poetic and bittersweet snapshot of aging in an urban setting, viewed through the lens of dance. The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and was selected to screen at the Aspen Shortsfest in the U.S.

Starting October 17

Magical Caresses by Lori Malépart-Traversy (2022, French Program Animation Studio)
Animated documentary series (5 x 4 min)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/magical-caresses

  • This series of five short animated documentaries by Lori Malépart-Traversy, creator of the popular short film Le clitoris, takes a playful and uninhibited look at solo sexuality. One of the episodes, Masturbation: A Short History of a Great Taboo, had its world premiere at the 2022 Sommets du cinéma d’animation in Montreal, where it won the award for Best Educational Film, and was selected to screen at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Another film in the series, Sweet Jesus, screened in competition at Annecy festival.

From September 24, 2022, to January 29, 2023, at the Montreal Biosphère

The Orchid and the Bee by Frances Adair Mckenzie (2020, English Program Animation and Interactive Studio)
360-degree screening (5 min)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-orchid-and-the-bee

Nature is wondrous and clever. As Darwin taught us, those who improvise most effectively prevail. This expressionistic work, originally in VR and now adapted for 360 screening, is an ode to life’s struggle for existence, explored through a chain of genetic love affairs. It has been selected for several major festivals worldwide, including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and was an award winner at SAT Fest 2022 in Montreal.

Learn more about the NFB’s filmmakers and its collection:

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French version here | Version en français ici.

Media Relations

  • 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.