Starting April 14, audiences have a new way of experiencing film narrative with Seances, a groundbreaking achievement in data-driven cinematic storytelling from iconoclastic filmmaker Guy Maddin, co-creators Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, and the National Film Board of Canada.
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is bringing together acclaimed Canadian filmmakers to celebrate the achievements of Canadian performing arts legends on film, as the 2016 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) prepares to honour seven new laureates at its annual gala, taking place July 11, 2016, at the National Arts Centre.
From April 15 to September 2, 2016, the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris will showcase the work of acclaimed Quebec children's book illustrator/animation filmmaker Michèle Lemieux in an exhibition entitled The Whole and Its Parts: From Drawings to Animated Films. Organized by curator Angela Grauerholz and produced by the Centre de design at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), the exhibition is presented in partnership with the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) and the National Film Board of Canada. After Paris, the exhibition will reopen in Montreal at UQAM's Centre de design from September 15 to October 30. This year, Lemieux's work will have particular resonance in France, since she also designed the poster for the forthcoming Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 13–18, 2016).
Jean-Daniel Lafond's new documentary, Michaëlle Jean: A Woman of Purpose, will have a special, one-night-only screening in Toronto, presented with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, on Friday, April 22, at 6:30 p.m., at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. In this InformAction production (Nathalie Barton), co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada (René Chénier) in association with Majda Films International, the filmmaker captures the recent journey of Michaëlle Jean through Canadian society and diplomacy. This personal and sensitive portrait takes us behind the scenes, revealing her growth as a stateswoman. Jean's appointment as Governor General of Canada was a historic moment. Not only was she the first black woman to occupy Canada's highest office, she would also redefine the role through her desire to turn it into a space for civic engagement and her focus on cultural diplomacy. The screening will be attended by the director, Michaëlle Jean, Hot Docs president Chris McDonald, and Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson Claude Joli-Coeur. A post-screening Q&A will be hosted by Anna Maria Tremonti (CBC Radio's The Current) with Jean-Daniel Lafond and Michaëlle Jean.
Michaëlle Jean: A Woman of Purpose, a new documentary by Jean-Daniel Lafond, will have its French launch at the Vues d'Afrique International Film Festival in Montreal (April 21), Ottawa (April 22) and Quebec City (April 23), and its English launch in Toronto (April 22) in conjunction with the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, with the director, Michaëlle Jean and other guests in attendance. In this InformAction production (Nathalie Barton), co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada (René Chénier) in association with Majda Films International, the filmmaker shows the recent journey of Michaëlle Jean, his wife, through Canadian society and diplomacy. This intimate and sensitive portrait takes us behind the scenes, revealing her growth as a stateswoman.
After winning the award for Best Feature-Length Documentary at the Gala du cinéma québécois and receiving a warm welcome from audiences and critics alike, Patricio Henríquez's feature documentary Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd will be available as of Tuesday, April 5, in download-to-own (DTO) and video-on-demand (VOD) formats at NFB.ca and the iTunes store. It can also be purchased on DVD via NFB.ca or by calling 1-800-267-7710. The film was co-produced by Macumba Media (Patricio Henríquez and Michelle Shephard) and the NFB (Colette Loumède) with the collaboration of Radio-Canada and RDI.