The NFB has all but achieved its parity objectives for the number of productions directed by women (which stood at 47% in 2017–2018), the portion of the production budget allocated to women (46%), and the key creative position of screenwriter (47%), while progress has been made for the position of editor. However, work remains to be done in positions related to cinematography and music composition, where the ratio of men to women is still unequal. The talent is out there: it’s just a question of finding it.
The National Film Board of Canada is pulling out all the stops to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF), taking place March 1 to 21, 2018. Participating in RVF festivities for the 13th consecutive year, the NFB will be offering an extensive film tour that features a lineup of 24 documentaries and animated works; a wide selection of thematic content that’s more varied than ever, with programs on women artists, love in all its forms, and the strong bond between children and their grandparents; as well as an entertaining group activity. In all, nearly 280 NFB screenings are scheduled in 69 cities throughout Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories—a 24 percent increase over last year.
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is back at the Festival REGARD with eight shorts—a rich selection of acclaimed films that have screened at major festivals around the world.
The Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF) is featuring a special presentation of Tidal Traces—a new NFB virtual reality work by new-media artist Nancy Lee, choreographer Emmalena Fredriksson and the NFB’s Digital Studio in Vancouver—along with Torill Kove’s acclaimed Mikrofilm AS/NFB animated short Threads.
he National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and APTN announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will pool the organizations’ efforts and expertise in implementing protocols, programs, training and other initiatives aimed at strengthening relations with Indigenous Peoples and creators. The MOU will have a lasting and positive impact on the Canadian production and distribution landscape and ensure these initiatives are more rapidly implemented. The agreement is the result of actions recently taken by each organization, particularly a three-year plan released by the NFB last June, entitled Redefining the NFB’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples (2017–2020), and the implementation of the recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Beginning February 14, Valentine’s Day, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is bringing out the love with the award-winning film I Like Girls streaming free of charge on NFB.ca, Facebook and YouTube.
Written and directed by Montreal cartoonist and animator Diane Obomsawin, a.k.a. Obom, based on her graphic novel of the same name, the film uses endearing anthropomorphic figures to tell real-life stories of first love.
Two National Film Board of Canada (NFB) productions have been selected to screen at this year’s TIFF Kids International Film Festival (March 9–18, 2018): Christina Willings’ innovative short documentary Beauty, making its world premiere, and Christopher Auchter’s award-winning animated short The Mountain of SGaana.
At the 2018 Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC), Montreal audiences will have the chance to catch acclaimed NFB films that have screened in festivals across Quebec, Canada and the world. A total of 12 NFB films, plus a 360-degree documentary short, will be screening at this year’s event, which runs from February 21 to March 3. Making its world premiere, Patrick Bouchard’s animated short Le sujet (NFB) will open the festival alongside Bernard Émond’s fiction feature, Pour vivre ici. Samara Grace Chadwick’s feature-length documentary 1999 (Parabola Films/Beauvoir Films/NFB) will have its Quebec premiere.
On Wednesday, February 7, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is launching a new four-part series entitled Les cinéastes racontent in collaboration with the Cinémathèque québécoise. The series will offer audiences a unique look at the creative processes of acclaimed filmmakers who’ve worked with the NFB’s French Program Documentary Studio. This talented group of non-fiction storytellers will be sharing their perspectives with members of the public and discussing their key works. The series is the brainchild of NFB executive producer Colette Loumède, who will also host. Loumède has produced more than 50 documentaries, several of which have had a significant impact on the world of documentary film in Canada. The first installment of Les cinéastes racontent, on February 7, features director Céline Baril (24 Davids). Subsequent guests are Luc Bourdon (The Devil’s Share) on March 7 and Jean-François Caissy (First Stripes) and Pascale Ferland (Pauline Julien, intime et politique) in fall 2018. All talks take place in French at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) is partnering with several important Canadian institutions – the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the Indigenous Matters Committee of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) and Library and Archives Canada (LAC) – to launch a series of dialogues about reconciliation. The dialogues will take place in public libraries across Canada over an initial three-year period (2018-2021). More than 30 libraries have already expressed interest in taking part. The idea of creating this series came from discussions held with members of Indigenous communities and other partners directly involved in formulating the Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Finding that Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are still all too often strangers to each other, CCUNESCO has decided to take action by creating safe spaces for the two communities to meet, interact and dialogue with each other.
Key audiovisual industry organizations announced today the appointment of Jesse Wente as Director of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office, a role he will assume starting January 22, 2018. Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office is an initiative first announced by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, at the Banff World Media Festival this past June.
Canadian excellence in animation and documentary awaits audiences at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival (February 15 to 25, 2018), with four new works from the National Film Board of Canada.
The talents of three emerging Saskatchewan filmmakers are on display at free public screenings in February with the premieres of the short docs To Wake Up the Nakota Language (Nakón-wįcó’i’e oǧų́ǧa) by Louise BigEagle, Talking at Night by Eric Thiessen and Ride by Kristin Catherwood—all produced through Doc Lab Saskatchewan (#DocLabSK), a new initiative led by the National Film Board of Canada in collaboration with Creative Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative.
The Enemy, a virtual reality installation by photojournalist Karim Ben Khelifa will be presented by the NFB and Phi from February 10 to March 10. It is an unprecedented experience, available in English and French, that reveals the human side of war through the stories of six combatants fighting in three of the world's most complex wars: the gang wars in El Salvador, the civil war in Democratic Republic of Congo and the Israel-Palestine conflict. By meeting these combatants face-to-face through virtual reality, visitors find themselves in the journalist's seat and become invested in trying to bring the world's attention to these conflicts and the suffering they produce.
Juancito Jean has been named the Regard sur Montreal Filmmaker-in-Residence for 2018, which will allow him to devote the year to writing, directing and working on the post-production and distribution of his film Printemps Now.