November 1, 2021 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The interactive animated film Brainstream (Sérotonine Anonyme), written and directed by Caroline Robert of Studio AATOAA and produced by the NFB, will have its world premiere at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) on Friday, November 19, 2021. Brainstream will be launching online simultaneously around the world, accessible free of charge at nfb.ca/brainstream, on computers as well as mobile devices.

A sensitive and humorous work about a young girl who livestreams her brain activity, the project will be presented in the form of an installation, in competition as part of IDFA’s DocLab, one of the world’s leading platforms for innovative interactive storytelling. The festival runs from November 17 to 28, 2021.

QUICK FACTS

DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling – IDFA 2021

• Brainstream by Caroline Robert – WORLD PREMIERE
  Created by studio AATOAA and produced by the NFB (long version: 20 min; short version: 5 min)
  Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/brainstreamYou’re inside the head of D., a young girl who’s livestreaming her brain activity during a new kind of treatment session. Online, along with other participants, you massage her brain, experiencing the free flow of her thoughts, emotions and obsessions. Now, she’s telling you about her weekend. Earlier, her anxiety played some catchy beats that still lurk in one corner of her mind—like an earworm that won’t let go. Keep massaging. It’s doing her some good. In exchange, she’s giving you a guided tour of what’s going on inside her head, empowered by your gestures and stimulating presence. D. opens up as her mind wanders—perhaps a little bit like your own mind. Brainstream is an interactive animated film that explores, with sensitivity and humour, the mysteries of brain activity and the unpredictable trajectory of our thoughts. It is performed in English by Sophie Shields-Rivard.

• About Caroline Robert
  
  Caroline Robert is a multidisciplinary artist whose work combines hand-made and new technologies. Known for her unique, sensitive and timeless style, she creates worlds that capture the imagination. Long fascinated by science, and finding beauty in everyday life, Robert wears many hats on a variety of projects: animation, editing, photography, set design, graphic design, interactivity and more. Notable projects she’s worked on include Bla Bla, Way to Go, Vast Body, Composition and Habitat. She has done visuals for the Arcade Fire albums Reflektor and The Suburbs. As a collaborator on all projects coming out of Studio AATOAA, she has seen her work presented at venues including Sundance, IDFA, the Gaîté lyrique, the Museum of the Moving Image and the Japan Media Arts Festival. Robert has also been named “One to Watch” by Creative Review and has won a Grammy for her visual work with Arcade Fire. Brainstream is the first interactive film she’s written and directed.

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Associated Links

AATOAA
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam

Media Relations

Jennifer Mair
NFB Publicist
C.: 416-436-0105
j.mair@nfb.ca | @NFB_Jennifer

Lorenzo Feldhandler
Communications Mingotwo, for the NFB
514-817-3563
lorenzo@mingo2.ca

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

French version here | Version française ici.