O Canada

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

All alone, Yellow Guy tries to stop a lamp from teaching him about dreams. While Red Guy finds out the truth about the puppets' existence.

Long Tack Sam was an internationally renowned Chinese acrobat and magician. He overcame isolation, poverty, cultural and linguistic barriers, extreme racism and world wars to become one of the most successful vaudeville acts of his time. His showmanship was unrivalled, yet he refused to appear in movies because of the way Chinese were portrayed at the time. A celebration of the spirit of Long Tack Sam's magic and art, this richly textured first person road movie is an exhilarating testament to his legacy and a prismatic tour through the 20th Century. It all begins in a small village in China... https://www.nfb.ca/film/the_magical_life_of_long_tack_sam/

White Tape explores the theme of boundaries: the frame, the space between brushstrokes and the implications of occupation.

When a small boy loses his favourite toy – a small teddy bear – this draws him into the inner world of his childhood. Nonetheless, he must destroy this realm if he wants to grow up.

Rosie Ming, a young Canadian poet, is invited to perform at a Poetry Festival in Shiraz, Iran, but she’d rather be in Paris. She lives at home with her over-protective Chinese grandparents and has never been anywhere by herself. Once in Iran, she finds herself in the company of poets and Persians, all who tell her stories that force her to confront her past; the Iranian father she assumed abandoned her and the nature of Poetry itself. It’s about building bridges between cultural and generational divides. It’s about being curious. Staying open. And finding your own voice through the magic of poetry. Rosie goes on an unwitting journey of forgiveness, reconciliation, and perhaps above all, understanding, through learning about her father’s past, her own cultural identity, and her responsibility to it.

1987, 30 sec, color, sound Produced for an Artbreak segment on MTV Network, this dynamic "thirty-second spot" presents an abbreviated history of animation according to the representation of women, from the cell imagery of Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series to the contemporary digital effects of television. In Birnbaum's vision, Fleischer's spilled inkwell releases cartoon bubbles containing images of women from MTV music videos. With wit and panache, Birnbaum reverses the traditional sexual roles of the producer and product of commercial imagery: The final image is that of a female artist on whose video "palette" we see a glimpse of Fleischer.

Among the Thorns

Blackout is a short, animated documentary about the 2003 power failure in much of the eastern seaboard of the U.S and Canada for up to 4 days.

What if, instead of bombs, we dropped watermelons? Dreamy and hopeful, this animated short sweeps us up into a colourful world where layers of reality and creativity intersect. Our protagonist navigates through it all seamlessly, and in the process shows us the importance of imagination.

A musical film about the adventures of the wandering musicians from Bremen such as Troubadour, Donkey, Dog, Cat and Rooster. In one of the towns Troubadour falls in love with a Princess and makes up a plan how to get the King's confidence.

Six young filmmakers from Central and East Europe developed shorts about the theme of 'generation'.

A girl journeys through a vibrant, pulsing, macrocosmic landscape, but a precipitous incident compels her to venture up a mountain in an attempt to save herself. A story about illness, perseverance, and our connection to everything around us.

A cupcake escapes a city of sweets and is marooned on an island with vegetables where he learns to reform his destructive ways in this tasty stop-motion from the talented Kirsten Lepore.

A girl is sitting in the garden doing schoolwork and is distracted by butterflies flying around. She throws away her pen and runs after the butterflies. Meanwhile, a little ink devil forms at the tip of the quill and gets up to all sorts of mischief.

Anita the duck buys a psychic device at a novelty store in an alternate universe and creates mayhem at a crazy party.

A symbolic reflection on issues of female sexuality, art and identity constructs.

An anthology of various tales told in various styles with robots being the one common element among them.

Based on a true story, Angels and Ghosts tells the emotive journey of Amber, a young girl who is on a quest to find her brothers who have disappeared. It's a gripping animated adventure exploring the potent themes of mental health and family bonds. The story, told as a monologue from Amber's perspective, is narrated by Oscar nominated actress Samantha Morton.

Life on a conveyor belt seems great for Sushi and his Topping friends. But as he begins to contemplate his existence, Sushi wonders if there’s more to life than pimping himself out to savage consumers.