Stay warm and cozy while enjoying the November highlights on NFB.ca
Watch the world premiere of Caroline Robert’s interactive animated film Brainstream and the powerful documentary The Silence by Renée Blanchar
(Images provided by the NFB)
Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
NFB.ca is adding wonderful new titles in November. This free-to-watch selection of works from NFB studios around the country includes the world premiere of the interactive animated film Brainstream, by Caroline Robert of Studio AATOAA; Renée Blanchar’s profoundly human feature documentary The Silence; the short docs Being Prepared by Carol Kunnuk and Into Light by Sheona McDonald, the latter being released to highlight Transgender Awareness Week; a thematic channel for Remembrance Day; and films celebrating the winners of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. These new works join more than 5,500 titles already available on NFB.ca, not to mention our collection of some 100 interactive works, most of which are available for free online viewing.
Available now
Ocean School, a free, online educational resource about the ocean, made for youth between the ages of 11 and 15, is launching its latest module, “The Harvest.” “The Harvest” offers teachers interdisciplinary media and activities that explore how herring, salmon and the Haíɫzaqv People are interconnected in the rich ecosystem of what is now known as British Columbia’s Central Coast. Join Ocean School and explore “The Harvest” today!
To mark Transgender Awareness Week
Starting November 8: Into Light by Sheona McDonald (2021, BC & Yukon Studio)
Short documentary (19 min)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/into-light-short-film
When a child reveals who they truly are on the inside, how does a parent set aside their own expectations to help them become their most authentic self? Set against the Northern landscape of Yellowknife, the film captures a season of change as a mother and child navigate the complexities of gender identity together. This award-winning documentary has been selected to screen at several festivals in Canada and abroad.
LGBTQ2+ channel: nfb.ca/channels/lgbtq2
This selection of over 40 short and feature-length documentary and animated films continues to grow with recent additions such as I Am Skylar by Rachel Bower and Beauty by Christina Willings, about the experiences of transgender people.
To mark Remembrance Day, November 11
Channel: nfb.ca/channels/remembrance-day
This new channel features more than 15 documentary films honouring the men and women who have served our country in various conflicts, including Robert Duncan’s John McCrae’s War: In Flanders Fields and Claude Guilmain’s The Van Doos: 100 Years with the Royal 22e Régiment.
Starting November 15
Being Prepared by Carol Kunnuk (2021, North West Studio)
Short documentary (9 min 55 s)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/being-prepared
As the global pandemic reaches into the Arctic Archipelago, Inuk filmmaker Carol Kunnuk documents how unfamiliar new protocols affect her family and community. Her vividly specific soundtrack juxtaposes snippets from local radio broadcasts, issuing health advisories in both Inuktitut and English, with the sweet sounds of children at play. A richly detailed and tender account of disruption and adjustment. Being Prepared will also be broadcast on Uvagut TV on November 15 at 7 p.m. (EST).
Starting November 19
Brainstream by Caroline Robert – WORLD PREMIERE
Created by Studio AATOAA and produced by the NFB’s Interactive Studio
Interactive animated film (long version: 20 min; short version: 5 min)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/brainstream/
Brainstream is an interactive animated film in which a young girl livestreams her thoughts during a new kind of treatment session. The piece explores the fascinating workings of our brain with sensitivity and humour. It will have its world premiere at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the form of an installation, in competition as part of the DocLab section, and it will be launching online simultaneously around the world, accessible at nfb.ca/brainstream, on computers as well as mobile devices.
Starting November 24
The Silence by Renée Blanchar (2020, Ça Tourne Productions/the NFB’s Canadian Francophonie Studio in Moncton, in collaboration with Radio-Canada)
Feature-length documentary (106 min)
Press kit (synopsis, biographies, images and credits): mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-silence/
Now available online after a successful festival run that garnered three awards, the film had very favourable reviews across Canada and a theatrical release in New Brunswick and Quebec. Tackling the sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests against young boys in francophone New Brunswick, Acadian filmmaker Renée Blanchar offers an enlightened take on a human drama that’s playing out practically across the globe.
Starting November 26 at 8 p.m. (EST)
Seven shorts celebrate the 2021 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) laureates
For the 12th year, the NFB is bringing together acclaimed filmmakers to create short cinematic tributes to Canadian performing arts legends, as the GGPAA gets set to honour laureates with two televised specials, one on CBC and one on Radio-Canada on November 26 at 7 p.m. (EST). The short films will be available immediately after on NFB.ca. Here are the titles:
Zab Maboungou by Carmine Pierre-Dufour
Florent Vollant: I Dream in Innu by Nicolas Renaud
Starlight & Other Sounds: The Music of Alexina Louie by Josephine Anderson
Catherine O’Hara: All of Us Shine by Hart Snider
Tantoo Cardinal by Darlene Naponse
Lynda Hamilton: The Art of Listening by Claude Guilmain
Ryan Reynolds: I’m a Laureate? by Christopher Auchter
Learn more about the NFB’s filmmakers and its collection: