October 11, 2018 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The NFB returns in full force to the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (FCIAT) with eight short films, including five documentaries from the Projet 5 courts (5 Shorts Project) (Nadagam Films/NFB), which will be having their world premiere with the directors in attendance: Mamie et Mia (Granny and Mia) by Émilie Villeneuve, Les enfants des nomades (Children of the Nomad) by Evelyne Papatie, Délia de 9 à 5 (Délia from 9 to 5) by Délia Gunn, La charge mentale pour les nuls (The Mental Load for Dummies) by Jessy Poulin and Orteils talons orteils talons (Toes Heels Toes Heels) by Gabrielle Cornellier. The three other shorts rounding out the lineup at the festival are the animated films Animal Behaviour (Zoothérapie) (NFB) by Alison Snowden and David Fine, Le sujet (The Subject) (NFB) by Patrick Bouchard, and Caterpillarplasty (Papillioplastie) (NFB) by David Barlow-Krelina. The FCIAT will take place in Rouyn-Noranda and runs from October 27 to November 1, 2018.

Launched at the NFB by the French Program’s Documentary Studio, headed by Colette Loumède, the Projet 5 courts visits Quebec’s regions to discover new filmmaking talent. After celebrating artists from Quebec City and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, the program now turns its attention to Abitibi-Témiscamingue, where the NFB worked with the production company Nadagam films in Val-d’Or, led by Serge Bordeleau. This edition of the Projet 5 courts features, for the first time, five female directors, two of whom hail from the Kitcisakik Anicinape Community. They all took up the challenge of creating a very short film for the web.

After screening at the FCIAT, the five short documentaries will be launched online on Monday, October 29, on NFB.ca, YouTube, and the NFB’s Facebook page.

Projet 5 courts – World premiere

Produced by Nathalie Cloutier (NFB) and Serge Bordeleau (Nadagam films)

Festival screening: Sunday, October 28, 1:00 p.m. (Théâtre du cuivre) – short film program

• Mamie et Mia by Émilie Villeneuve (2 min 44 s)
  Narrated by a six-year-old girl, this film about the making of a rainbow cake takes on the magical power of bringing generations together.

  Producer, director, actor, and writer Émilie Villeneuve is the director of the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

• Les enfants des nomades by Evelyne Papatie (2 min 53 s)
  Hailing from a family of nomads, the filmmaker writes a magnificent, poetic letter to her children in which the bicycle becomes a powerful symbol of heritage, transference, and coming together.

  Kitcisakik filmmaker and producer Evelyne Papatie is actively involved in Wapikoni Mobile.

• Délia de 9 à 5 by Délia Gunn (3 min 40 s)
  A direct and unvarnished—yet tender and humorous—portrait of a typical day in the life of director Délia Gunn in Réservoir-Dozois, who was eight months pregnant at the time.

  Born in Kitcisakik, Délia Gunn has written and directed a number of short films for Wapikoni Mobile.

• La charge mentale pour les nuls by Jessy Poulin (2 min 48 s)
  In this humorous “experiential” documentary, the words of four overworked Abitibi women encourage viewers to reflect on work/family balance and the dangers of exhaustion.

  Trained in cinema and communications, Jessy Poulin is a digital production technician at UQAT and a director, actor, and mother.

• Orteils talons orteils talons by Gabrielle Cornellier (3 min 12 s)
  Thirty people from different generations come together in a community hall to learn line dancing with the help of dynamic instructor Lorraine Camirand.

  A UQAM-trained writer, director, and editor, Gabrielle Cornellier has made a number of short films and web series.

Animal Behaviour by Alison Snowden and David Fine (14 min)
Produced at the NFB by Michael Fukushima

Festival screening: Sunday, October 28, 1:00 p.m. (Théâtre du cuivre) – short film program

• Five animals meet regularly to discuss their inner angst in a group therapy session led by Dr. Clement, a canine psychotherapist.
• The film was screened at the Annecy and Ottawa festivals and won the Short Film Grand Prize at the 2018 Anima Mundi International Animation Festival.
• Alison Snowden and David Fine’s Bob’s Birthday won the 1994 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
• They created the animated TV series Bob and Margaret, a huge hit in Canada and the U.S.

Le sujet by Patrick Bouchard (10 min)
Produced at the NFB by Julie Roy

Festival screening: Sunday, October 28, 7:00 p.m. (Théâtre du cuivre) – short film program

• An animation filmmaker searches his own body for memories, emotions, and fears to inspire his work. As he starts making cuts with a scalpel, various symbolic objects emerge from his past. After smashing the ribs to reach the heart, he finds the burden he wishes to rid himself of.
• Le sujet was the only Canadian film screened at Cannes this year. It was also screened at Annecy, TIFF, and Ottawa.
• This is the most personal work to date by director Patrick Bouchard (Bydlo), who actually appears in the film.

Caterpillarplasty by David Barlow-Krelina (5 min)
Produced at the NFB by Jelena Popović

Festival screening: Friday, October 26, 8:00 p.m., Espace court, at the Petit Théâtre du Vieux Noranda

• Fusing elements of Kafka and Kubrick, Caterpillarplasty is a prescient, grotesque sci-fi satire that lifts plastic surgery to another level.
• Bless You (2013), the previous film by this Ottawa-born Montreal-based filmmaker, was widely acclaimed online, at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), and at the Animation Show of Shows.
• Papillioplastie (Caterpillarplasty) was screened at the International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Germany, where it garnered an Ecumenical Jury Special Mention, and at the OIAF.

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Related Products

Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailers, synopsis: Animal Behaviour | Caterpillarplasty | | The Subject | Available in French only: Projet 5 courts 

Associated Links

Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Nadagam Films
Théâtre du cuivre