Ab ovo - Traces of Sand

Fall Apart

Travel around the brain with a little, lost thought and discover what it takes to make a great idea.

When an intergalactic space god shows up in the form of a German potato and turns your teeth into drunken, blathering idiots… it’s time to take the chicken and hit the fire escape. That is… unless you really dig having your domicile over run by dirty pots and pans.

This animated short shows the development of boys up to and during puberty. It depicts the typical external changes that occur with the onset of sexual maturity, the structure and function of the sexual organs, sperm formation and pollination.

It is a parable about indifference

An inspiring English teacher transports her class into the very heart of a Persian poem.

Edgar Allan Poe’s ill-fated hero meets his double.

Walking down the street or sitting on a commuter train, few of us can resist the siren song of that small, illuminated device in our pockets. Through a carefully choreographed collision of hand-made sculptural collages and ink and paint animation, In the Shallows, by first-time NFB filmmaker Arash Akhgari, takes us on a deep dive into the shallow and fragmented world of news, entertainment and ads, where we can easily drown in the dangerous allure of mass media intoxication.

A flying hippo on a quest to find the nearest pond. A fish behind the wheel, fleeing from a shark. A little koala who wants to hop like the kangaroos, and a raucous mob of elephants throwing a party – which drives the monkeys up the wall. There's never a dull moment in these four colourfully animated episodes from the animal kingdom, enlivened by the groovy jazz sounds of award-winning Swedish quintet Oddjob.

Trying to keep together all the little beings that are fragments of yourself. Overwhelming states of shapeshifting through contradictory perceptions of the inner and the outer self. Feeling, not feeling, falling apart and finally reassembling and reconciling all the little beings into one loving self again.

One winter, a ravenous ogre terrorizes the land of King Balthasar. Meanwhile, a blizzard is brewing in Léon’s heart. Braving the cold, this adopted bear cub runs away from home. Léon has many an adventure during his travels. He befriends a hedgehog and an elephant, confronts an ogre, and sets Princess Molly Gingerbread free. His courage and integrity eventually lead him back to his family. In the end, the cub earns everybody’s respect.

Day in, day out, Mr. Grimm is busy with his job as the Reaper, harvesting people's lives. One day, his monotonous existence is interrupted by the doorbell. It's a little girl. She wants her cat back. Little does she know that she's the next life on Mr. Grimm's list.

Montage of still photos with lighting effects.

The Forest Drum follows a monster looking to make friends with the other animals that live in the forest with him. While the animals are scared of him, the monster finds a drum that he plans to use to bridge the gap between him and the others.

The film takes place in a doctor's waiting room where soothing music and the opportunity to enjoy an ice cream brings about an alleviating atmosphere. What could possibly go wrong in a healthcare institution where help is nearby? The cold and ugly sides of human nature reveal themselves as the narrative touches on the cycle of birth and death and the absurdity of life. Let's hope the doctor can help!

Wasteland is a five-part anthology film that deals with isolation, mental illness, and the subjectivity of reality. Each of the five parts can be watched individually, but when viewed in sequence, each story brings out a more interesting and distinct context to its respective pieces.

Based on late field biologist John Sincock's experiences in Kauai.

After a sudden burst of wind in Buckingham Palace, the Queen's hat gets carried away around London. Fortunately, a trustworthy guard and a playful corgi run after it!

Two rival robotics companies in the future release their latest creations at a robotics convention, claiming each to be the latest and greatest in technological advances. Mega Stellar Company's release is a robot boy named Romie-O, while Super Solar Cybernetics has released a girl robot named Julie-8. Unforeseen to each of the company's creators, is how each of the advanced robots soon falls in love with the other.

You are locked in an empty room with a camera. The room is dark. It is raining hard outside. You are a subject of Complex, a scientific experiment, whose purpose is to test the limits of the human mind. The objective is simple: stay alive.