La solitude de monsieur Turgeon

Mr. Turgeon is a lonely bachelor. When his fantasies about a female companion fail to materialize, he tries to fill the void with an overabundance of consumer goods. There is nothing in his life but the raucous music of his neighbours. A digital urban tale with the naïve style of paper cut-outs, Lonesome Monsieur Turgeon is an amusing but sympathetic portrait of a man who feels all alone in the world. If only he could connect with the people around him. A film without words.

When it comes to conflict, even chameleons won't change! Peace in the rain forest is disrupted when two chameleons literally get stuck in a conflict, with catastrophic results. Relationships are severed, opportunities are lost, innocent bystanders are harmed and violence seems imminent. Luckily for the lizards, a frog observing the fracas turns into exactly what they need - no, not a prince - a mediator.

Dinner for Two tackles conflict in a lively, humorous and provocative way. It shows that amidst the chaos that differences create, there are still paths to reconciliation.

This film is part of the ShowPeace series of lively animated films about conflict resolution. This series has received support from UNICEF and Justice Canada. For teaching guides, a parents' guide and recommended resources visit www.nfb.ca/showpeace

Technique: Cel animation

This feature documentary tells the story of 2 teens who head out west in search of self. Like a quarter of Vancouver’s itinerant youth population, Mélo and Ti-criss made the trip from Quebec, hopeful for a better life. Still minors, the pair seeks escape and adventure, perhaps the meaning of life. From east to west, from the streets to a hotel, with a welcome interlude in the country, they seek their place in society.

When death haunts a high school in a small town in the late 1990s, everyone is forever transformed. In this gentle, prismatic film, Samara returns to the town she fled as a teen to re-immerse herself in the memories still lurking there, in its spaces and within the dusty boxes of diaries, photos and VHS tapes. 1999 is not a ghost story, but the ghosts are palpable at every turn. The snow-covered streets, the school’s hallways and lockers are preserved as in a dream. The absences left by the relentless teenage suicides still shimmer with questions, trauma and regret. Samara encounters people who are as breathtaking as they are heartbroken, and, finally, 16 years later, the community strengthens itself by sharing the long-silenced memories. Ultimately the film weaves together multiple voices in a collective essay on how grief is internalized—and how, as children, we so painfully learn to articulate our desire to stay alive.

When society shifts abruptly into pandemic low gear, a lone cyclist embarks on a tour that begins with shuttered shops and empty streets, and ends with a city opening up to a new reality.

Part of THE CURVE, a collection of social distancing stories that bring us together. Enjoy more works from this series here .

For every housed participant, another remains homeless. Wandering the empty corridors of his shelter, Valère reveals his struggle with HIV/AIDS, and his longing for a home of his own.

This short film is a chapter from Here At Home, a web documentary about mental health and homelessness that takes us inside the Mental Health Commission of Canada's At Home pilot project.

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 community archives across British Columbia, local knowledge keepers are hand-fashioning a more inclusive history. Through a collage of personal interviews, archival footage and deeply rooted memories, the past, present and future come together, fighting for a space where everyone is seen and everyone belongs. History is what we all make of it.

2/3 OF US DON’T KNOW WE’RE ASSHOLES. An unapologetic poke at the self-consumed selfie culture.

In the chaos of the post-modern world we still need the village psychic. Throughout the Maritime provinces of eastern Canada, neighbourhood fortune-tellers and village wise-women are alive and well, and their practices have survived intact. These women often work at the kitchen table--and today, they're more sought-after than ever. They're seemingly average people who don't put on airs and affectations, but who go about doing some rather extraordinary things with very little fuss. Using herbal preparations, spells, astrology, or tools as simple as tea leaves and tap water, they look into the past, present and future -- and offer tips on coping with what life throws our way. It's a fascinating tradition--and director Donna Davies has been immersed in it since childhood. Join her in The Kitchen Goddess as she takes you on a personal visit into the worlds of seven Maritime psychics.

Pia Yona Massie's Sayonara Super 8 uses personal archival footage to ask questions about the fragile nature of memory, human relationships and the foibles of the medium itself.