Seven new National Film Board of Canada shorts celebrating performing arts excellence launch April 27 at 8 p.m., ET, at NFB.ca. NFB’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards collection totals 91 films.

April 27, 2019 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Launching Saturday, April 27, starting at 8 p.m., ET, seven new short films by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will celebrate the achievements of Canadian performing arts legends at NFB.ca—as this year’s laureates are honoured at the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Gala at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

For 11 years, the NFB has sought out accomplished Canadian directors to find the right combination of filmmaker, concept, and award recipient—producing portraits of Canadian legends that also stand on their own as innovative short works of cinema.

The NFB has produced 91 of these films since 2008 through its partnership with the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, which can all be enjoyed free of charge at NFB.ca—a way for everyone to share in this celebration of Canadian excellence in the performing arts.

Films

Inspired by National Arts Centre Award recipient Sandra Oh’s words and actions, Karen Lam experiments with the concept of representation in the performing arts in Sandra Oh: Inspiration—a short film from the NSI Drama Prize winner, produced by Shirley Vercruysse (BC and Yukon Studio).

In Newfoundland filmmaker and TIFF award winner Stephen Dunn’s Rick Mercer: “Take Action” Figures, a mother and son find an enlightened toy store that proudly offers Rick Mercer-themed toys to inspire the next generation of Canadian youth. Produced by Rohan Fernando (Quebec and Atlantic Studio).

After winning a lifetime achievement award, there’s nowhere left to go but down and into the bowels of the Afterlifetime Achievement Agency, as portrayed in TIFF Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Hannah Cheesman’s humorous The Afterlifetime of Colm Feore, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to stage, film and television actor Colm Feore. Produced by Justine Pimlott (Ontario Studio).

Lorraine Pintal: So the light never dies is Montreal filmmaker Ariane Louis-Seize’s profile of Lorraine Pintal, director of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, featuring some of the most memorable characters and performers of her career as a stage director, in a succession of surreal scenes. Produced by Louis-Richard Tremblay (Digital Studio).

A piano behaves strangely during a performance by concert pianist Louise Bessette in two-time Gémeaux Award-winning director Érik Cimon’s short Louise’s Piano, produced by Denis McCready (Canadian Francophonie Studio).

Leah Nelson’s Mavis Staines: Sharing Dance explores how the head of Canada’s National Ballet School set in motion a paradigm shift that transformed ballet training in Canada and around the world, in a short work produced by Nicholas Klassen (Digital Studio).

The son of an Italian immigrant, Noël Spinelli has dedicated most of his life to making music accessible to his blue-collar community of Lachine, Quebec. Canadian Screen Award-winning filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart (I Am Not a Rock Star) directs a poignant journey into the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award recipient’s deep love of opera and Puccini in Noël Spinelli: Sharing the Magic of Music, produced by René Chénier (Special Projects Studio).

The NFB’s GGPAA film collection is produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre.

About the NFB

The NFB is Canada’s public producer of award-winning creative documentaries, auteur animation, interactive stories and participatory experiences. NFB producers are embedded in communities across the country, from St. John’s to Vancouver, working with talented creators on innovative and socially relevant projects. The NFB is a leader in gender equity in film and digital media production, and is working to strengthen Indigenous-led production, guided by the recommendations of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. NFB productions have won over 7,000 awards, including 24 Canadian Screen Awards, 21 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 100 Genies. To access NFB works, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for mobile devices.

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