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Trio of acclaimed NFB animated shorts heads to Sundance. DIANE OBOMSAWIN’S I LIKE GIRLS, CHINTIS LUNDGREN’S MANIVALD AND EVA CVIJANOVIĆ’S HEDGEHOG’S HOME FEATURED IN THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL’S SHORTS PROGRAM.

PRESS RELEASE
04/12/2017

December 4, 2017 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada is back at the Sundance Film Festival—the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent films, taking place January 18–28, 2018—with three films chosen for the festival’s shorts program: Diane Obomsawin’s I Like Girls, Chintis Lundgren’s Manivald (Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio/Adriatic Animation/NFB) and Eva Cvijanović’s Hedgehog’s Home (NFB/Bonobostudio).

It’s the latest honour for these films, which share a staggering 40 awards to date. The choice of these three films from the NFB is also a testament to the world-class reputation of its legendary animation studios, as well as to the NFB’s commitment to producing groundbreaking works by women.

Hedgehog’s Home

Winner of more than 25 international awards and honours, including an Annie Award nomination for Best Animated Short Subject, the Young Audiences Public Prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival and the Short Film Audience Award at Animafest Zagreb, Eva Cvijanović’s Hedgehog’s Home is a sumptuous and delicately choreographed stop-motion fable reviving the timeless and timely notion of cultivating our own place of safety, dignity and comfort, no matter how big or small. Narrated by Kenneth Welsh (Twin Peaks), this international co-production is produced by Jelena Popović (NFB) and Vanja Andrijević (Bonobostudio, Croatia), with Michael Fukushima as executive producer.

I Like Girls

Montreal cartoonist and animator Diane Obomsawin, a.k.a. Obom, adapts her latest graphic novel for the screen, using endearing anthropomorphic figures to tell real-life stories of first love in I Like Girls. Winner of seven awards to date, including the Nelvana Grand Prize for Independent Short Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and Best LGBT Short at the New York City Short Film Festival, this eight-minute film was produced by Marc Bertrand, with Julie Roy as executive producer for the NFB’s French Animation Studio.

Manivald

Manivald the fox has just turned 33. Overeducated, unemployed and uninspired, living with his mother, he has an easy life but not a good one. But all this starts to change when the washing machine breaks down and Toomas, a sexy wolf repairman, arrives to fix it—and them. Narrated by comedian and writer Trevor Boris and featuring the voice of singer and actress France Castel, Chintis Lundgren’s Manivald has garnered nine awards, including the Program A Audience Choice Award at the New York City Short Film Festival and the Award for Best Script at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. It is produced by Lundgren (Chintis Lundgreni Animatsioonistuudio, Estonia), Draško Ivezić (Adriatic Animation, Croatia) and Jelena Popović (NFB), with Michael Fukushima as executive producer.

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Related Products

Electronic Press Kit | Images, trailers, synopsis: Hedgehog’s Home | I Like Girls | Manivald

Associated Links

Sundance Film Festival
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

    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, 7,000 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.