The 50th film from Alanis Obomsawin in the 50th year of her legendary filmmaking career, a powerful look by first-time director Attiya Khan and Lawrence Jackman at how healing can happen when men take responsibility for their domestic abuse, and a musical documentary from Marie Clements connecting key moments in the history of First Nations activism—the National Film Board of Canada lineup at the Atlantic Film Festival (September 14–21, 2017) features stories that touch us and inspire, and help to change us as individuals and as a country.
There’s a mountain ridge named for him, as well as two creeks, a school and a building on the campus of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT); he’s been commemorated with his own stamp by Canada Post—but what do we really know about the legendary Black Alberta cowboy and rancher John Ware?
The 50th film from Alanis Obomsawin in the 50th year of her legendary filmmaking career, the world premiere of Dominic Etienne Simard’s new animated short, as well as North American premieres of Oscar-winning animator Torill Kove’s latest gem and Matthew Rankin’s dazzling short film on the visionary Nikola Tesla—the lineup of National Film Board of Canada films at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival features powerful stories and astounding visual delights.
The 50th film from Alanis Obomsawin in the 50th year of her legendary filmmaking career, the world premiere of Dominic Etienne Simard’s new animated short, as well as North American premieres of Oscar-winning animator Torill Kove’s latest gem and Matthew Rankin’s dazzling short film on the visionary Nikola Tesla—the lineup of National Film Board of Canada films at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival features powerful stories and astounding visual delights from acclaimed Montreal directors.
The National Film Board of Canada’s North West Studio has announced the three final participants in Doc Lab Saskatchewan (#DocLabSK)—a new NFB project for emerging documentary filmmakers.
Jérôme Dufour, Executive Director of Distribution, Communications & Marketing at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), today announced the appointment of Nathalie Bourdon to the position of Director, Distribution & Market Development. She will begin at the NFB on August 2, 2017.
Theodore Ushev’s animated short Blind Vaysha, nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 2017 Oscars, will receive its North American premiere as a virtual-reality (VR) experience at Lucid Realities, the third instalment of the Sensory Stories immersive exhibition, held at Montreal’s Phi Centre from July 18 to December 16, 2017. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) with the participation of ARTE France and ICI ARTV, Blind Vaysha in VR uses Samsung Gear technology, and received its world premiere at the 2017 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. In all, 12 works will be presented at Lucid Realities, curated by Phi and Future of StoryTelling (FoST).
The Cannonball Woman (La femme canon), the first animated film by the directorial team of Albertine Zullo and David Toutevoix, will have its world premiere in Switzerland at the Locarno International Film Festival, where it will be competing for the Pardi di domani award for short and medium-length Swiss films.
Exploration is the theme behind What We Seek—the latest installment in the National Film Board of Canada’s online series 1 Nation. 4 Lenses, part of its special programming for the 150th anniversary of Confederation (#Canada150).
The animated short Skin for Skin, directed by Calgary filmmakers Carol Beecher and Kevin D. A. Kurytnik and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), will have its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival, where it will be screening in competition. A stunning neo-Gothic tale of exploitation and spiritual reckoning in the early days of the North American fur trade, the film offers a new, mythical take on this period of Canadian history. Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre’s Oscar (MJSTP Films/NFB, in collaboration with Télé-Québec), an animated short doc about the great Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, has also been selected to screen at Fantasia—one of the most important genre film festivals in North America, set to show films from around the world between July 13 and August 2, 2017.
Oscar, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre’s animated short documentary about the life of acclaimed jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, will be streaming free of charge on NFB.ca starting today. The film will also be screened this afternoon when the Oscar Peterson Award is presented at this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival, with the jazz great’s daughter, Céline Peterson, in attendance. As part of the festival’s programming lineup, Oscar will also be shown at Montreal’s Cinéma du Parc theatre, prior to the documentary features Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary, by John Scheinfeld, and Bill Frisell, A Portrait, by Emma Franz. The French version of Oscar will be broadcast on the Télé-Québec television network and streamed in Télé-Québec’s “Zone vidéo.” The film was produced by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre and Jocelyne Perrier for MJSTP Films and Marc Bertrand for the NFB, with the collaboration of Télé-Québec. Julie Roy is the executive producer.
Starting June 29, NFB.ca will feature seven new short films by the National Film Board of Canada celebrating the achievements of Canadian performing arts legends, as this year’s laureates are honoured at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards in Ottawa.
The National Film Board of Canada has announced a three-year plan outlining a series of commitments that respond to the work and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) and Indigenous creators’ longstanding concerns about systemic inequities in the existing Canadian production landscape.
Hedgehog’s Home, directed by Montreal-based Eva Cvijanović and co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada and Bonobostudio, received the Young Audiences Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival’s special awards ceremony on June 16. This year marks the fourth time the special awards were presented at the city’s town hall with Jean-Luc Rigaut, mayor of Annecy, in attendance. A second awards ceremony will be held on June 17, the festival’s closing day.
Starting June 14, a new National Film Board of Canada series of interactive essays, #Legacies150, offers a dazzling array of 13 first-person perspectives on the themes of legacy and inheritance, as Canada’s public producer adds to its online programming for the 150th anniversary of Confederation (#Canada150).