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THE NFB AT THE 22ND FESTIVAL REGARD. Patrick Bouchard’s animated short Le sujet (The Subject) screening in competition along with three other animated films and one doc, totalling five NFB titles in competition.

PRESS RELEASE
22/02/2018

February 22, 2018 – Saguenay – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

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. On the heels of its February 21 world premiere at the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma in Montreal, the animated film Le sujet (The Subject) by Patrick Bouchard, his fifth NFB collaboration, is coming to Saguenay, Bouchard’s home region, and will be screening in the festival’s official competition with the filmmaker in attendance. Two more animated films are in the official competition: TESLA: LUMIÈRE MONDIALE (THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT) by Matthew Rankin (NFB) and La pureté de l’enfance (Sweet Childhood) by Zviane (Canal+/Sacrebleu Productions/NFB). The documentary Beauty (Beautés) by Christina Willings (NFB, Quebec premiere) and Hedgehog’s Home (La maison du hérisson) by Eva Cvijanović (Bonobostudio/NFB) will also be screened in the youth competition. Manivald by Chintis Lundgren (Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio/Adriatic Animation/NFB) will be included in the Panorama: Estonian Thoughts program and We Drink Too Much (On boit trop) and We Eat Shit (On mange de la merde), both directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski at the NFB, will be featured in a special program called Punk’s Not Dead. The 22nd edition of the Festival REGARD will take place in Saguenay from March 14 to 18, 2018.

An important showcase for short films in North America, the highly popular REGARD Festival boasts varied and innovative programming, with regional, national and international film selections.

Le sujet by Patrick Bouchard (10 min) – Official competition

Synopsis, bios, images: mediaspace.nfb.ca/the-subject/

For his fifth collaboration with the NFB, Patrick Bouchard created a stop-motion animated film using a life-sized body puppet. He also composed the music for the film, which is his most personal work to date. Written and developed over a two-year-long production period, the short offers viewers an extremely visceral experience and powerful, symbolic imagery. Le sujet bravely delves into the invisible worlds within and reveals what it finds there.

Other films in official competition

TESLA: LUMIÈRE MONDIALE by Matthew Rankin (8 min)

Synopsis, bios, images: mediaspace.nfb.ca/the-tesla-world-light/

  • The film had its world premiere at the 56th International Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
  • Honourable mention ex-aequo at TIFF 2017, along with other awards in Canadian and American festivals. It has been selected to screen at the 17th Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival.

La pureté de l’enfance by Zviane (3 min)

Synopsis, bios, images: mediaspace.nfb.ca/chronicles/

  • Launched at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Comic Strip Chronicles celebrates the affinity between comic books and animated films. The collection comprises four three-minute shorts created by acclaimed cartoonists from Quebec and France, including La pureté de l’enfance.

Youth competition

Beauty (Beautés) by Christina Willings (23 min) – Quebec premiere

Synopsis, bios, images: mediaspace.nfb.ca/beauty/

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

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

  • Recipient of more than 25 international awards and honours to date, including an Annie Award nomination in the Best Animated Short Subject category, the Young Audience Award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and the Short Film Audience Award at Zagreb Animafest.
  • The film had its world premiere in Berlin in 2017 and was just screened at the 2018 Sundance festival.

Panorama: Estonian Thoughts

Manivald by Chintis Lundgren (13 min)

Synopsis, bios, images: mediaspace.nfb.ca/manivald/

  • Manivald has won 12 awards worldwide, including the Program A Audience Choice Award at the New York City Short Film Festival and the Best Script Award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

Special program: Punk’s Not Dead

We Drink Too Much (On boit trop) (47 s) and We Eat Shit (On mange de la merde) (43 s) by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Clyde Henry Productions)

Synopsis, bios, images: mediaspace.nfb.ca/naked-island/

  • These two titles are among the 15 very short films in the Naked Island series, produced by the NFB and directed by some of Canada’s best animators. Both works screened at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

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Associated Links

Festival REGARD
Canal+
Sacrebleu Productions
Bonobostudio
Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio
Adriatic Animation
Clyde Henry Productions

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

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.