A National Film Board of Canada production

As world tragedies pile up, a bored couple is looking for their next distraction. This explosive dark comedy is a blunt take on the privilege of boredom and the dissonance that is needed to pretend everything is okay. Lebanese-Canadian illustrator and animator Bahij Jaroudi compels us to recognize our own apathy in this relatable black-and-white animated short.

The world is crumbling, but what’s for supper? Romance rhymes with dissonance in this peculiar animated short.

This film is a cynical take on the political dissonance of our time and the absurdity of carrying on with normal life as people are massacred every day on the other side of the globe.

We watch a couple coast through their day-to-day, savouring their fleeting pleasures in a world riddled with death, crises and contradictions. They watch people in distant regions of the world lose their lives and homes, but somehow they’re able to reconcile what they see with their sheltered existence as they navigate boredom, hunger and other annoyances.

Art has long been my outlet to express how I feel; Bisou Sauvage emanated from my enduring frustration vis-à-vis the relentless violence unfolding in the world.

I immigrated to Canada a couple of years ago from Beirut, Lebanon, and it felt weird watching my country being bombed as I sat in a café having a chocolate croissant and complaining about the weather.

The film also grapples with that timeless philosophical question: Are humans inherently good or evil? Hence the title: “Bisou” suggests love and tenderness, and “Sauvage” our ability to carry out incredibly violent acts.

I hope viewers will walk away feeling intrigued, at the very least, and embrace the absurdity of life.

I’ve never really believed that art could change the world, but perhaps it can make it more bearable. Meanwhile, I will continue doing what I’ve always done: drawing, staring at people and finding joy in the process.

Bahij Jaroudi

Contact NFB publicist for high-resolution images for print.