December 16, 2020 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada

Two National Film Board of Canada (NFB) co-productions directed by unique auteur animators will be screening in the competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival: Affairs of the Art by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills, and HIDE by Daniel Gray. The world premiere of Affairs of the Art will mark the eagerly awaited return of two-time Oscar nominee Joanna Quinn. HIDE will be making its European premiere. The world’s largest film event dedicated to shorts, the festival will be taking place January 29 to February 6, 2021, both online and in a limited number of venues. Films presented online, which have been geo-blocked to France, will be accessible for the duration of the festival.

International competition

Affairs of the Art by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills (16 min) – World Premiere
Co-produced by Beryl Productions International and the NFB
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/affairs-of-the-art

• How many obsessions can one family have? In Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet stuffing.
• Director Joanna Quinn—whose films have won just about every major international award, including BAFTAs and Emmys, in addition to garnering two Oscar nominations—and producer/screenwriter Les Mills continue the series of beloved, hilarious and award-winning animated shorts they created in the UK featuring Beryl: Girls Night Out, Body Beautiful and Family Ties. Affairs of the Art introduces us to the heroine’s family, including her techno-geek son, her husband, now Beryl’s model and muse, and her sister, a fanatical narcissist and high-end taxidermist.
• The first co-production between Beryl Productions International and the NFB, Affairs of the Artfeatures Joanna Quinn’s refreshing signature hand-drawn animation with attitude and Les Mills’ raucously humorous scenarios.

Lab competition

HIDE by Daniel Gray (11 min) – European Premiere
Co-produced by La Cellule Productions, the NFB and CUB Animation Studio
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/hide-short-film

• Two brothers entertain themselves with a game of hide and seek. As one counts, the other hides in a small cabinet. Seconds pass… then minutes… years… and decades. HIDE is a heartrending and prescient story about family and disconnect, in a world that is increasingly fragmented and unrecognizable.
• The film world premiered in official competition at the 2020 Ottawa International Animation Festival and has just won the Special Jury Mention – Canadian Competition at the Sommets du cinéma d’animation in Montreal.
• Written and directed by UK-born, Hungary-based award-winning filmmaker Daniel Gray (o.m.,2006; teeth, 2015), HIDE employs whispers in a sparse, quiet soundtrack, and visual design that shifts from bright and spacious simplicity to opaque fragments. Quietness is used to introduce and emphasize moments of stress and chaos.

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Associated Links

Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

French version here | Version française ici.