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Get a Grip

Accroche-toi
Abbey Collings
2025 | 1 min
Stop motion animation
Without words

Gus MacDuffin longs to fly like the other puffins. But when he finally takes the leap, he falls—straight down into a fisherman’s bucket. There, Gus makes a shocking discovery: his wings are actually hands. With the help of his fisherman friend, he embraces his unique abilities and brings home a skill no other puffin has.

 

Produced as part of the 15th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse mentorship.


Logline

A tiny tale of self-discovery and the wonder of being special.




Director's Statement

Inspired by the Bird Islands in Nova Scotia, Get a Grip shows how observing others shapes our beliefs, influences our interactions and ultimately helps us define who we are. The film explores the balance between learning from the world around us and staying true to ourselves.



Excerpt


Contact NFB publicist for broadcast-quality excerpts. 

Images


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Description: Film still – Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada, 2025
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Description: Film still – Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada, 2025
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Description: Film still – Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada, 2025
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Contact NFB publicist for high-resolution images for print. 

Team


Abbey Collings
Apprentice Filmmaker-Animator

Photo
Photo : NFB



Lilian Chan
Mentoring Director

Photo
Photo : NFB



Fred Casia
Associate Producer

Photo
Photo : NFB



Maral Mohammadian
Producer

Photo
Photo : NFB



Christine Noël
Executive Producer (NFB)

Photo
Photo : Valérie Sangin


Credits

Written, Directed and Animated by
Scénario, réalisation et animation
Abbey Collings

Sound and Music
Conception sonore
Vid Cousins

Editor
Montage
Jesse Riviere

Mentoring Director
Mentorat de réalisation
Lillian Chan

Associate Producer
Production déléguée
Fred Casia

Consultation
James Braithwaite
Donald McWilliams

Design and Fabrication
Conception et fabrication
Abbey Collings
Dale Hayward
Nikita Greer
Alizée Millot

Compositing
Alexandre Roy
Herl Lara

Technical Director
Direction technique
Mathieu Tremblay

Technical Support – Animation
Soutien technique à l’animation
Yannick Grandmont
Alexandre Roy

Technical Coordinator
Coordination technique
Luc Binette

Titles
Titres
Cynthia Ouellet

Online Edit
Montage en ligne
Luca Di Gioacchino

Voices
Voix
Katie Finn
Abbey Collings

Foley
Bruitage
Karla Baumgardner

Musicians
Musique, interprétation
Sarah Pagé
Dave Gossage
Kate Bevan-Baker

Recording
Enregistrement
Geoffrey Mitchell

Mix
Mixage
Isabelle Lussier

Administration
Karine Desmeules

Senior Production Coordinator
Coordination de la production
Dominique Forget

Marketing
Mise en marché
Judith Lessard-Bérubé
Marion Duhaime-Morissette
Emilie Ryan

Publicist
Attachée de presse
Nadine Viau

Producer
Production
Maral Mohammadian

Executive Producer
Production exécutive
Christine Noël

For my grandpa
Pour mon grand-papa

T.C.

© 2025 National Film Board of Canada
© Office national du film du Canada, 2025


Media Relations

  • Nadine Viau
    NFB Publicist – Montreal
    C.: 514-458-9745
    n.viau@nfb.ca

  • About the Hothouse program

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