Invertebrates

PRIMAVERA is a three dimensional film featuring puppets that work in the so called telescope system which tries with the help of stylised images to visually depict the great variety existing in nature, the food chain and variations in the reproduction of different living organisms. The entire film is seen through the eyes of a butterfly larva.

This is a documentary about the fragile and complex marine ecosystem in the Bay of Fundy. The film traces relationships within the food chain - from tiny plankton to birds and seals and finally to whales and humans. The film is a plea for careful management of our ocean resource and was first telecast as part of CBC's Nature of Things series.

A wounded moose escapes its hunters, later dying deep in the forest and becoming... a communal feast. As the seasons go by, mammals, birds and insects invite themselves to the banquet - multiplying ensuing games, rituals and conflicts. In exploring and occasionally foiling nature's wildlife codes, our story becomes a simple yet poignant reflection on death, on its natural place in this world and, by extension, on its deeper meaning and purpose - important lessons to explore at this time when the glorious paradises offered by religions tend to feel less and less credible.

'The Lost Salmon' chronicles the plight and potential recovery of the iconic Spring-run Chinook Salmon of the Pacific Northwest. Faced with extinction in many river systems of the West, a new genetic discovery could aid in their recovery. Once teeming in the millions and a sacrament for the oldest civilizations in the Americas, time is running out for this genetically distinct wild salmon.

Through revealing interviews with experts and victims' families, this gripping documentary examines the problem of deadly foodborne illness in the US.

Uses animation and live action photography to describe good food chains, almost all depending ultimately on green plants, and relates these food chains to the larger concepts of the oxygen-carbon dioxide and the nitrogen cycles, and to the unending pattern of life, growth, and decay which is known as the food cycle.

Consommateurs, vous avez le pouvoir !

On the coast of the Arctic Ocean of Chukotka live people cut off from the world. Their life revolves around hunting walruses and whales and protecting villages from bears coming from the tundra. This turns the film into a reflection on death. Marine animals become the food of people, animal leftovers are used to feed arctic foxes on a fur farm, human cemeteries become prey for bears. It seems that all the inhabitants of these places are involved in the cycle of food and death. The film departs from the usual rhythmic structure of cinema, being built on the principle of a shamanic ritual, a meaning-forming event for northern peoples.

The Song of Chapayev

Kitajima Maya is a young girl from a poor background with no talents of use to school or her widowed mother. However, she is obsessed with movies, theatrical plays and TV dramas-to the point of remembering every line from a movie she's seen once, and dramatically acting out the stories, including every character, for anyone who will listen. One day, she encounters an old woman with a scarred face who claims that Maya is the girl she's been looking for-for the old woman has spent years protecting the rights to a 'legendary' play. (Remake of the first few chapters of the manga for the first tv series that aired in 1984)

A little girl is born with a tail that expresses her emotions. As a child, her parents celebrate their daughter's uniqueness and her tail inspires magical make-believe adventures with her friends. As she grows up, however, the young woman faces pressure to fit in, and must choose between conformity and self-expression. An animated short film starring Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, using a striking collage of 3D animated characters and hand-made miniature sets.

Combined cel/cutout animation exploring the relationship between two tiny characters living at the bottom of a giant film frame.

Calaveras

The new frontier of Venus has degenerated into a dystopia ravaged by the civil war between Ishtar and Aphrodia. Bubbly reporter Susan Sommers arrives in the capitol of Aphrodia just before it's captured by Ishtar. She falls in with a bunch of teen-agers who live for a sort of motorcycle version of Roller Derby. Daredevil rider Hiro and his friends reluctantly join the struggle to free Aphrodia from the invaders. Not surprisingly, Hiro proves an ace at piloting the mono-cycles that are the Aphrodians' secret weapon in the key battle.

The film centers on nerd Maxwell Dweeb (Robert Carradine), who is a loner with no friends. While watching television, he sees an advertisement for the Minnie Mouse Center for the Totally Unhip, named after its owner, Minnie Mouse. Dweeb, in an effort to improve himself, decides to attend. After being welcomed by the director (Suzanne Somers), Dweeb is taken on a tour of the centre, where other Disney characters run various courses: Goofy is a fitness instructor, Donald Duck is a wardrobe manager, and Pluto is a messenger boy. After finally meeting Minnie Mouse, Dweeb is taken on by the director, whom he eventually falls in love with, and dates once he has passed his training. The film is intershot with various musical numbers (including the duet "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Minnie Mouse and Elton John) and excerpts from early Disney shorts.

Once Upon a Mouse is a theatrical featurette highlighting Disney's animated legacy starting with Steamboat Willie in 1928.

A parody of the theatre world. The same piece is played out in a few different theatre styles: opera, avant garde, children's theatre, vaudeville etc.

When Bodi and his band 'True Blue' leave Snow Mountain to tour with pop sensation Lil' Foxy, they learn that fame comes at a price.

A gorgeous bird entranced by its own beauty sings and dances all day long in the forest, not caring enough to prepare for the winter. When winter finally comes, the bird has no place to go. After a while, there is a fire, and the freezing animal wants to limber up but in the end all his colorful feathers are singed and turn black as coal. And thus the once so beautiful bird has transformed into a black crow.

As a lionhearted boy who can't wield magic strives for the title of Wizard King, four banished Wizard Kings of yore return to crush the Clover Kingdom.