Latest news with #NationalFilmBoardofCanada
Canada Standard
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Canada Standard
Stream Canadian with the NFB this June: Celebrate National Indigenous History Month.Special programming also highlights Pride Month.
June 2, 2025 - Montreal - National Film Board of Canada (NFB) In June, keep streaming Canadian on the NFB's platforms! We're celebrating National Indigenous History Month with three new releases showcasing the strength and resilience of Indigenous people: Ossie Michelin's Feather Fall , about an iconic moment of Indigenous resistance filmed in Mi'kmaq territory; , about an iconic moment of Indigenous resistance filmed in Mi'kmaq territory; Alanis Obomsawin's My Friend the Green Horse , where an animal from the filmmaker's dreams embodies the spirit of kindness and a celebration of life; , where an animal from the filmmaker's dreams embodies the spirit of kindness and a celebration of life; and Christopher Auchter's The Stand , which recreates the moment when the Haida Nation took a stand for the future. June is also Pride Month in Canada: Special themed channels and blog posts will mark these important historic and cultural commemorations. In addition, more new releases will be available online: Serville Poblete's King's Court , an intimate look into the lives of two young men in Toronto's Bleecker Street neighbourhood; , an intimate look into the lives of two young men in Toronto's Bleecker Street neighbourhood; and the seven short films produced by the NFB in tribute to the 2025 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) laureates. Remember, is home to more than 7,000 streaming films and a collection of over 100 interactive works. MARKING NATIONAL INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH Starting June 2 Feather Fall by Ossie Michelin (2024, NFB) Documentary (22 min 57 s) / Press kit The film revisits Mi'kmaq territory, where an iconic moment was captured in 2013-igniting into a symbol of Indigenous resistance and halting fracking exploration on unceded lands. Starting June 9 My Friend the Green Horse by Alanis Obomsawin (2024, NFB) Animation (11 min 20 s) / Press kit Often feeling alone in her waking life, the young Alanis Obomsawin found friendship with the Green Horse, a benevolent being she visited regularly in her dreams. Together with other animal spirits, the Green Horse guided Alanis to realize the immensity of the gift of life and the power of kindness. Starting June 19 The Stand by Christopher Auchter (2024, NFB) Documentary (94 min 33 s) / Press kit Drawn from more than a hundred hours of archival footage and audio, Christopher Auchter's riveting new feature doc recreates the moment when the Haida Nation took a stand for the future. This award-winning film has been an official selection at several festivals in Canada, the United States and the UK. To date, the NFB has produced or co-produced more than 460 works by First Nations, Inuit and Metis filmmakers , one of the largest online collections of Indigenous-made films , exploring stories beyond those of the historically dominant culture. English Collection Curator Camilo Martin-Florez has written a two-part blog post entitled "The Forgotten Reels of Nunavut's Animation Workshop." It explores one of the most captivating and intricate chapters of Indigenous filmmaking at the NFB: the 58 films made by 13 Inuit filmmakers at a 1972 workshop in Kinngait (then known as Cape Dorset), Nunavut. The films have been retrieved, restored, digitized and made available for free on to celebrate this National Indigenous Heritage Month. Learn more: Part 1 and Part 2. NEW ONLINE RELEASE Starting June 17 King's Court by Serville Poblete (2025, NFB) Documentary (19 min 59 s) / Press kit An intimate look into the lives of two young men navigating life, love, friendship and family in Toronto's Bleecker Street neighbourhood. The film had its world premiere at the Hot Docs film fest. MARKING PRIDE MONTH Starting June 27 Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance by Noam Gonick (2025, NFB) Documentary (96 min) / Press kit The film captures pivotal moments of the activism that sparked Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ movement. The film launched in April at Hot Docs, where it was voted a top ten audience favourite. The original English version of the documentary will be launched on TVO's digital channels at 9 a.m. (EDT) on June 22, and broadcast on TVO at 9 p.m. (EDT). Themed channel This selection of close to 50 short and feature-length doc and animated films continues to grow, with recent additions like A Mother Apart by Laurie Townshend, as well as important films dating back to the 1990s, including Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives by Aerlyn Weissman and Lynne Fernie. CELEBRATING THE 2025 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S PERFORMING ARTS AWARDS (GGPAA) LAUREATES Starting June 14 at 9 p.m. (ET) For the 17th year, the NFB is bringing together acclaimed filmmakers to create seven short cinematic tributes to Canadian performing arts legends, as the GGPAA gets set to honour laureates at their Awards Gala, taking place June 14 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The short films will also be available on the NFB's streaming platforms, CBC Gem and ICI starting on that date at 9 p.m. Tara Johns directed five shorts and Monique LeBlanc, two. Find more details here. A detailed press release will be issued on June 14. The GGPAA short films from previous years are available here. - 30 - Stay Connected Online Screening Room: NFB Facebook | NFB Twitter | NFB Instagram | NFB Blog | NFB YouTube | NFB Vimeo Curator's perspective | Director's notes About the NFB
Canada Standard
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Canada Standard
The NFB at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. An opening-night film, three shorts in official competition, activities at the film market and more.
May 28, 2025 - Montreal - National Film Board of Canada (NFB) The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is back at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 8-14), with a strong presence throughout the event. Three NFB short films have been selected for the official competition, including the eagerly awaited The Girl Who Cried Pearls ( La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles ) by the Oscar-nominated duo of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski ( Madame Tutli-Putli ). It will screen as a world premiere on the festival's opening night. The NFB will also be taking part in the Annecy International Animation Film Market (MIFA). The NFB at the 2025 Annecy festival The Girl Who Cried Pearls ( La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles ) by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (opening-night film, official competition, world premiere) Two other films in official competition: Bread Will Walk ( Le pain se lve ) by Alex Boya and Hairy Legs ( Poil aux jambes ) by Andrea Dorfman MIFA: Telefilm Canada / NFB networking event and panel on Canadian animation, with Suzanne Guvremont, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the NFB, in attendance SHORT FILMS - OFFICIAL COMPETITION The Girl Who Cried Pearls (La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles) by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (NFB, 16 min) - OPENING-NIGHT FILM AND WORLD PREMIERE Press kit: First screening: Sunday, June 8, 8:30 p.m. (Short Films Official 1) A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds. The film was presented at a Work in Progress at Annecy in 2023. With the voice of: Colm Feore. Original Music: Patrick Watson. Sound Designer: Olivier Calvert. Artistic Director: Brigitte Henry. Bread Will Walk by Alex Boya (NFB, 11 min 18 s) Press kit: First screening: Friday, June 13, 3:30 p.m. (Short Films Official 6) A devoted sister flees with her brother, a benevolent, bread-turned zombie. A mob pursues, mouths agape. Streets twist into mazes, reason dissolves, hunger reigns. Can love defy appetite? The film was just featured as part of the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. Actor Jay Baruchel voices all the characters in the original English version. Hairy Legs (Poil aux jambes) by Andrea Dorfman (NFB, 17 min) Press kit: First screening: Wednesday, June 11, 3:30 p.m. (Short Films Official 4) Deciding not to shave her legs at 13 led a young Andrea Dorfman to question and ultimately defy society's expectations. The film received an Honourable Mention for the DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (2024). MIFA Telefilm Canada / NFB networking event: Canada, Your Next Animation Partner Tuesday, June 10, 7 to 9 p.m. This soiree will underscore the presence of Canadian animation at Annecy and provide opportunities to develop new partnerships. With Suzanne Guvremont, NFB Chairperson, and Julie Roy, Executive Director and CEO of Telefilm Canada, in attendance. By invitation only. Panel - Investing in the Future: Canadian Animation at the Forefront Wednesday, June 11, 10:45 to 11:45 a.m. This panel will bring together leaders from the Canadian animation industry as well as filmmakers presenting their projects. With Suzanne Guvremont of the NFB and filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, among others, in attendance. WOMEN AND ANIMATION, 10 YEARS Thursday, June 12, 5:30 p.m. Affairs of the Art (L'art dans le sang) by Joanna Quinn (Beryl Productions International Ltd/NFB, 2021, 16 min 23 s) How to Be at Home ( la maison) by Andrea Dorfman (NFB, 2021, 4 min 51 s) HONORARY CRISTAL RECIPIENT JOANNA QUINN The NFB congratulates filmmaker Joanna Quinn, who this year is a recipient of the Annecy Festival's prestigious Honorary Cristal. She will also lead a captivating masterclass during the festival, talking about her passion for drawing and animation, and sharing secrets of how she brings her characters to life. - 30 - Stay Connected Online Screening Room: NFB Facebook | NFB X | NFB Instagram | NFB Blog | NFB YouTube | NFB Vimeo Curator's perspective | Director's notes About the NFB
Toronto Star
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Oscar-winning Canadian animator Co Hoedeman has died, National Film Board says
MONTREAL - Academy Award-winning Dutch-Canadian animator Co Hoedeman has died, the National Film Board of Canada said Tuesday. The 'master of stop-motion animation' died at age 84 on Monday in Montreal, the NFB said.
Canada Standard
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Canada Standard
NFB animator Co Hoedeman dies at age 84
May 27, 2025 - Montreal - National Film Board of Canada (NFB) The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is mourning the passing of distinguished animator and director Co Hoedeman, who died on May 26 in Montreal at the age of 84. Born in Amsterdam on August 1, 1940, Co was a master of stop-motion animation whose 1977 NFB production The Sand Castle received the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. "Co Hoedeman was a master animator, whose long career at the NFB was distinguished by innovative filmmaking and powerful humanitarian themes. He cared deeply for the well-being of children and was also a fierce defender of the importance of public filmmaking. The NFB and the Canadian animation community have lost a dear friend and colleague. Fortunately for us, we have his legacy of beloved works, which embody so much of his unique spirit," said Suzanne Guvremont, Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson. Select biography Shortly after directing his early films with the NFB, including his award-winning Oddball (1969), Co travelled to Czechoslovakia in 1970 to study puppet animation and then returned to the NFB to begin a series of stop-motion gems. Tchou-tchou (1972), created with wooden blocks, received the British Academy award (BAFTA) for Best Animated Film. During the 1970s, Co created a series of acclaimed animated films based on Inuit traditional stories, collaborating closely with artists from Nunavut and Nunavik. Following his Oscar win for The Sand Castle , he continued to experiment with a range of techniques and themes. In 1992, he worked with Indigenous inmates at La Macaza Institution to create The Sniffing Bear , a cautionary tale about substance abuse. In 1998, he began work on a beloved children's series about Ludovic, a young teddy bear, available in the NFB collection Four Seasons in the Life of Ludovic . After completing his final film with the NFB, Marianne's Theatre (2004), Co began a busy independent animation career. He collaborated with the NFB on the co-production 55 Socks (2011), a deeply personal project drawing on his childhood memories during a dark period of Dutch history, the Hunger Winter of 1944-45. He would also adapt his Ludovic character into a popular children's TV series. In 2003, the Cinemathque quebecoise and the NFB paid tribute to Co and his importance to Quebec cinema with an exhibition entitled "Exposition Co Hoedeman - Les Jardins de l'enfance." The exhibition was presented the following year at the Musee-Chteau d'Annecy in France. Co was interviewed in 2013 for the NFB online anthology Making Movie History and was the subject of the 1980 NFB documentary Co Hoedeman, Animator . All of his NFB films are available online free of charge at - 30 - Stay Connected Online Screening Room: NFB Facebook | NFB Twitter | NFB Instagram | NFB Blog | NFB YouTube | NFB Vimeo Curator's perspective | Director's notes About the NFB
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Co Hoedeman, Oscar-Winning Canadian Animator, Dies at 84
Co Hoedeman, the Canadian animator and director best known for winning an Oscar for best animated short in 1977, has died. He was 84. Hoedeman died Monday in Montreal, the National Film Board of Canada, for whom he directed 27 films during his career, said. No cause of death was specified. More from The Hollywood Reporter Rick Derringer, Singer-Songwriter Known For 'Hang On Sloopy' and 'Rock And Roll, Hoochie Coo' Dead at 77 Marilyn Howard Ellman, Daughter of The Three Stooges' Curly Howard, Dies at 86 Taina Elg, Actress in 'Les Girls' and 'The 39 Steps,' Dies at 95 'Co Hoedeman was a master animator whose long career at the NFB was distinguished by innovative filmmaking and powerful humanitarian themes,' Suzanne Guèvremont, government film commissioner and NFB chairperson, said in a statement. 'He cared deeply for the well-being of children and was also a fierce defender of the importance of public filmmaking. The NFB and the Canadian animation community have lost a dear friend and colleague. Fortunately for us, we have his legacy of beloved works, which embody so much of his unique spirit.' A master of stop-motion animation, Hoedeman earned his Academy Award statuette for Le Chateau de Sable (The Sand Castle), a 13-minute puppet animation short for the NFB. The film features a sandman and the creatures he sculpted out of sand. The creations then build a castle and cheer the completion of their new home, only to be interrupted by an uninvited guest. Born in Amsterdam on Aug. 1, 1940, Hoedeman as a child enjoyed using his hands to make puppets, kites and other figures. In his 2021 biography, Frame by Frame: An Animator's Journey, he wrote: 'At a time when there was no television and little access to any kind of entertainment, puppet shows were the most brilliant experience imaginable. Puppet theatre and puppet animation have a lot in common. The animator and his team, just like the puppet master in a puppet show, are in control of everything: the storyline, the movements, the sets, the puppets, the animation and the emotions of the audience.' Hoedeman started his career working in TV commercial production in Holland. But after seeing the films of NFB pioneer Norman McLaren at an animation festival, he came to Montreal in 1965 with not much more than a film reel in hand to possibly work for Canada's publicly funded film producer in its animation unit. 'I fell in love with [NFB films]. I was fascinated by the making of experimental films. We decided to emigrate to Canada,' Hoedeman recalled in the 2013 short documentary Making Movie History: Co Hoedeman. In the film, he recalled not being especially fazed by the Oscar nomination for The Sand Castle: 'So what? Perhaps it's my Dutch character, being overly pragmatic, perhaps. I don't know.' His reticence extended to the Oscars when Hoedeman thought another nominated NFB film in that year's competition, Ishu Patel's Bead Game, had been announced as the winner. 'So I got up to congratulate him. But no, no, no. It wasn't him. It was me!' Hoedeman recalled of that dramatic moment he became an Oscar winner. After directing his early films with the NFB, well before the age of computer-generated animation, including his award-winning Oddball (1969), Hoedeman traveled to then-Czechoslovakia in 1970 to study puppet animation. Returning to the NFB, he began a series of iconic stop-motion films for the Canadian producer, using old-school techniques like a 35mm camera on a tripod and a film set. Those included the 1972 film Tchou-tchou, which was created with wooden blocks and received a BAFTA for best animated film. During the 1970s, Hoedeman created a series of animated films based on Inuit traditional stories, working closely with artists from Nunavut and Nunavik. Following The Sand Castle, Hoedeman continued to experiment with a range of filmmaking techniques and themes. In 1992, he worked with Indigenous inmates at the La Macaza Institution to create The Sniffing Bear, a cautionary tale about substance abuse. In 1998, he began work on a beloved children's series about Ludovic, a young teddy bear, available in the NFB collection as Four Seasons in the Life of Ludovic. His final film for the NFB was Marianne's Theatre in 2011. That was followed by collaborations between the NFB and Hoedeman, now an indie filmmaker, including the 2011 film 55 Socks. That project drew on his childhood memories in Holland during World War II and especially during the Hunger Winter of 1944–45. He would also adapt his Ludovic character into a popular children's TV series. In 2003, the Cinémathèque Québécoise and the NFB paid tribute to Hoedeman with the exhibition Exposition Co Hoedeman – Les Jardins de l'Enfance in Montreal. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
