100 fantômes

A woman awakes to mysterious sounds—and confronts an astonishing surreal world summoned forth by her innermost fears.

Produced as part of the 13th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship.

This short animation is bleak and apparently grim, but it is an assertive statement on self-determination and the fundamental need for both dark and light. This is the first professional film by Jo Meuris.

Produced as part of the first edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. Theme was "Water and Our Relationship to It".

Seeking shelter from a thunderstorm, a man sits in a pub watching the ice in his glass melt away. Howie Shia marries his graphic illustration style with subtle animation and a haunting soundtrack to conjure up anxiety and foreboding. He used pen and ink on tracing paper and later composited and coloured digitally.

Produced as part of the second edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship.

This short animation illustrates the reactions of one individual whose doctor has just told him he will soon die. In a terse and sometimes humorous dialogue with his doctor, Nesbitt Spoon runs the gamut of emotions commonly experienced by people trying to deal with this devastating yet universal situation.

This short animation mixes traditional and computer animation to explore one of M.C. Escher's most famous works, the woodcut Sky and Water I (1938). Accompanied by a stunning soundtrack, this mesmerizing film playfully explores and deconstructs the optical illusion within one of the Dutch artist's most recognizable pieces. This film has no dialogue.

In a probing yet playful approach to a sensitive subject, this documentary examines the values that prompt people to alter their looks through cosmetic surgery. Personal accounts of men and women, young and old, who have decided to change their bodies are counterbalanced by comments from professionals who explain the effects of physical appearance on our lives. The film focuses mainly on the experiences of Daisy de Bellefeuille, a frank and feisty woman who decides to counter middle age with a facelift. The film provides us with a front-row seat during a facelift operation, as well as a close-up look at the results.

In this animated short from Richard Condie (The Big Snit), an old fool meets a young fool at a crossroads in the 14th century. The old fool stays behind while the young fool skips blindly down the wrong road. The old fool must then teach his young apprentice about the consequences of taking the wrong road. A quirky tale told without words.

In an intensely personal document about healing from childhood sexual abuse and torture, four women and two men speak honestly and eloquently of painful childhood experiences, the "angels" who guided them along the way, and their deeply felt commitment to building a better world for children. The video is unusual for its positive focus on healing, confronting anger and the search for peace.

This animated short tackles the subjects of personal space, conflict, and conflict resolution in the workplace. At the office, tempers flare as two coworkers who are sitting dangerously close find themselves bumping elbows and spilling ink. The film demonstrates four common approaches to interpersonal tensions: retreat, aggression, denial and - finally – negotiation.

In this feature film, an engineer from Paris flies to Montreal (on Air Canada Flight YUL 871), partly on business, partly in search of parents displaced by World War II, and partly because of the prevailing restlessness of the age. He achieves little that is conclusive, but in the short time between his arrival and departure he has a love affair, enjoys a flight over Montreal and the Expo pavillions, and is adopted by a little girl.

For more background info on this film, visit the NFB.ca blog.

This film is part of a series of television programs including interviews with the directors of short animated films as well as the films themselves. This video includes 2 animated shorts: Quilt (by Gayle Thomas), an animated tribute to patchwork quilting and Scant Sanity (by John Weldon), an exploration into the nature of the mind and reality in which a person seeking job counseling receives psychiatric treatment instead, thereupon becoming convinced of the reality of his own internal world.