Animation Express 2 (Directors: Various): It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since the National Film Board of Canada released the original Animation Express collection. I raved about that collection, and although sequels are usually not as good as the original, this second collection is just as stuffed with treasures as the first.
Particular favourites include the experimental CMYK, where printer’s marks dance around the screen to the music of the Quatuor Bozzini quartet, and Wild Life in which an Englishman trades his bowler hat for a cowboy hat, coming to Alberta in 1909 to try his hand at ranching. It doesn’t quite work out in this whimsical and yet haunting film.
The DVD contains 20 more (and the Blu-ray 26 more!) and while I don’t like all of them quite as much as the two above (I particularly didn’t like the Meryl Streep and Forest Whitaker-voiced Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life), this collection continues to gather the very best in Canadian animation, some of the most-awarded work in the world.
P.S. Though I’ll be posting more about this later, you can see both CMYK and Wild Life on the big screen as part of a new shorts screening series I’m launching in January. Behold Shorts That Are Not Pants. Hope you can join us!
Tagged as:
animation,
blu-ray,
nfb
The National Film Board of Canada celebrates International Animation Day (October 28) each year with a weeklong celebration of animated film. Get Animated! events are happening all across the country, with Toronto screenings and workshops starting Tuesday October 26 and continuing through to Sunday October 31. All events take place at the NFB Mediatheque at 150 John Street and are completely FREE!
This image is from Claude Cloutier’s delightful Genie-winning short Sleeping Betty, screening in the Fairytales for All programme, which is suitable for all ages:
And this one is from Marie-Hélène Turcotte’s lovely The Formation of Clouds, which screens in the NFB New Releases programme, recommended for adults and young people aged 14 and up:
Tagged as:
animation,
nfb
Nordic Nights returns for another season! This monthly screening series of Finnish and Icelandic films takes place at the NFB Mediatheque (150 John St.). Tickets for the Icelandic films are $10 ($8 for students and seniors), while the Finnish ones screen for free. All screenings feature English subtitles and begin at 7:00pm, preceded by a free reception at 6:00pm. Here’s the schedule for the next few months:
I’ll attempt to update this as more information is confirmed.
Nordic Nights is presented by the Finnish and Icelandic consulates in Toronto as well as the Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto.
Tagged as:
finland,
iceland,
nfb
The National Film Board of Canada recently made its entire catalogue of films available for free online viewing, which is great if you have regular access to a computer with a fast Internet connection. For others, at least in Toronto and Montréal, your alternative is to strap yourself into one of the funky personal digital viewing stations at the Toronto Mediatheque or the Montréal CineRobotheque where you can watch films to your heart’s content for just $2/day. In yet another example of the NFB’s leadership, it is doing away with the fee altogether as of May 1st, which means free NFB films for (just about) everyone.
If you’re not being swept up next week by Hot Docs, or even if you are, drop by the Mediatheque at 150 John St. and check out some of the NFB’s 5,500 films for free!
Tagged as:
nationalfilmboard,
nfb
If I’m honest, I’d have to say the Toronto’s NFB Mediatheque programs so much great stuff every day of the week that I can’t keep up with it all. Just recently, I discovered that they host a monthly environmentally-themed screening series called Green Screens. These socially-conscious films are screened for free (FREE!) and are followed by Q&A sessions or panel discussions with subject matter experts. Their partner for this series is the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy.
April’s selection is The Arctic Circle: Battle for the Pole, a stunning HD film about oil exploration and extraction in the Arctic. It screens Wednesday April 7th at 7:00pm at the NFB Mediatheque (150 John Street) and admission is FREE. The film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Peter J. Ewins, Senior Officer, Species Conservation, WWF-Canada.
Tagged as:
arctic,
nfb,
oil
