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THE NFB AT THE 2017 SOMMETS DU CINÉMA D’ANIMATION Strong NFB lineup includes the festival’s opening night short and closing night feature, four films in competition, and an Artist Talk by Matthew Rankin.

PRESS RELEASE
13/11/2017

November 13, 2017 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

A rich selection of 11 National Film Board of Canada
films will be screening at the 16th Sommets du cinéma d’animation (November 22–26), giving Montreal audiences a chance to see these acclaimed and innovative animated works, all of which have been shown at major festivals around the world. Keyu Chen’s short film Un printemps (Winds of Spring) (NFB) will be screening on opening night, along with the feature film Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert. The closing night film will be the live-action/animated feature documentary WALL (Le Mur) (NFB), written by Oscar-nominated British screenwriter and playwright David Hare (The Hours, The Reader) and directed by Cam Christiansen. Four short films are screening in the international competition: Charles by Dominic Etienne Simard (DES animations/Les Films de l’Arlequin/NFB), La femme canon (The Cannonball Woman) by Albertine Zullo and David Toutevoix (Hélium Films/Parmi les lucioles films /NFB), Mon yiddish papi (My Yiddish Papi) by Éléonore Goldberg (Picbois Productions/NFB), and Threads (Rubans) by Torill Kove (Mikrofilm AS/NFB); in addition, filmmaker Matthew Rankin (TESLA: LUMIÈRE MONDIALE) will be giving an Artist Talk on Thursday, November 23, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., while Torill Kove will be signing copies of the English-language book based on her film My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts on Sunday, November 26, at 1:30 p.m., during the festival’s youth screenings program. And NFB producer Michael Fukushima will be hosting a master class by acclaimed animator and producer Don Hahn on Wednesday, November 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The NFB lineup also includes Deyzangeroo by Ehsan Gharib (NFB), Manivald by Chintis Lundgren (Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio/Adriatic Animation /NFB), The Mountain of SGaana (La montagne de SGaana) by Christopher Auchter (NFB), and TESLA: LUMIÈRE MONDIALE (THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT) by Matthew Rankin (NFB), in the Panorama section; and Hedgehog’s Home (La maison du hérisson) by Eva Cvijanović (Bonobostudio/NFB) in the youth program.

Opening Film

Un printemps (Winds of Spring) by Keyu Chen (6 min) – Montreal premiere – screening with the feature film Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/winds-of-spring/

  • The film was selected to screen in official competition at the 2017 Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Closing Film

WALL (Le Mur) by Cam Christiansen (80 min) – Quebec premiere

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/wall/

  • The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Calgary International Film Festival.

International Competition

Charles by Dominic Etienne Simard (11 min) – Quebec premiere

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/charles/

  • The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

La femme canon (The Cannonball Woman) by Albertine Zullo and David Toutevoix (14 min) – Canadian premiere

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-cannonball-woman/

  • The film had its world premiere in competition at the Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Mon yiddish papi (My Yiddish Papi) by Éléonore Goldberg (7 min) – Quebec premiere

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/my-yiddish-papi/

  • The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF).

Threads (Rubans) by Torill Kove (9 min) – Montreal premiere

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/threads/

  • The film screened at TIFF 2017.

Panorama

Deyzangeroo by Ehsan Gharib (4 min)

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/deyzangeroo/

  • The film had its world premiere at the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montreal and recently won an award at DOK Leipzig.

Manivald by Chintis Lundgren (13 min) – Quebec premiere

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/manivald/

  • Manivald had its world premiere at Animafest Zagreb, where it received the Best Croatian Film Award. It has also been selected to screen at numerous festivals, including Annecy, and won the Award for Best Script at OIAF.

The Mountain of SGaana  (La montagne de SGaana) by Christopher Auchter (10 min)

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-mountain-of-sgaana/

  • The film received the award for Best Animated Film or Series for Young Audiences – Ages 6–12 at OIAF.

TESLA : LUMIÈRE MONDIALE (THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT) by Matthew Rankin (8 min)

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-tesla-world-light/

  • The film had its world premiere at the 56th International Critics’ Week of the Cannes Film Festival.
  • Honourable mention ex-aequo at TIFF 2017, along with two awards at OIAF and a special mention in the international short film competition section at FNC.

Youth Program

Hedgehog’s Home (La maison du hérisson) by Eva Cvijanović (10 min)

Synopsis, biographies, images: http://mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/hedgehogs-home/

  • The winner of some 15 international awards, this short was screened in official competition in the Generation Kplus section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where it received a special mention from the jury. It was also screened in three official competitions at Animafest in Zagreb, where it received a special mention (Short Films category) and the Short Film Audience Award. The film received an honourable mention for Best Canadian Animation at OIAF and the Best Short Film Award in the “P’tits loups” program at FNC.

Artist Talk with Matthew Rankin

  • On Thursday, November 23, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sommets audiences can attend a special talk by filmmaker Matthew Rankin, whose acclaimed short THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT was released this year.

Book signing with Torill Kove

  • Torill Kove will be signing copies of the English-language book based on her film My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts, on Sunday, November 26 at 1:30 p.m., during the festival’s youth screenings program. The event is a presentation of Firefly Books.

Don Hahn master class

NFB producer Michael Fukushima will host a master class by acclaimed animator and producer Don Hahn (Disney Studios) on Wednesday, November 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Cinémathèque Québécoise, in collaboration with Centre Phi. The master class will be given in English.

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Associated Links

Sommets du cinéma d’animation
Les Films de l’Arlequin
Hélium Films
Parmi les lucioles films
Picbois Productions
Mikrofilm AS
Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio
Adriatic Animation
Bonobostudio

Media Relations

  • Nadine Viau
    NFB Publicist – Montreal
    C.: 514-458-9745
    n.viau@nfb.ca

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

  • About the NFB

    The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a leader in exploring animation as an artform, a storytelling medium and innovative content for emerging platforms. It produces trailblazing animated works both in its Montreal studios and across  the country, and it works with many of the world’s leading creators on international co-productions. NFB productions have won more than 7,000 awards, including seven Oscars for NFB animation and seven grand prizes at the Annecy festival. To access this unique content, visit NFB.ca.