National Film Board of Canada greenlights 10 new projects for production. New documentary, animation and interactive projects from across Canada.

November 6, 2019 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada

The NFB, Canada’s pubic producer, has recently greenlit 10 new productions and co-productions—with new documentary, animation and interactive works getting underway between June and September 2019.

For more information on these and other projects currently underway across NFB studios, please visit our new NFB Production web page.

DOCUMENTARY

Arab Women Say What – Feature
Director: Nisreen Baker
Producers: Coty Savard & David Christensen | North West Studio | 100% NFB
An intimate gathering of several Arab women provides the context for an exploration of themes including patriarchy, home, identity, religion, feminism and life in Canada.

Just Call Me Ismail – Feature
Director: Michelle Shephard
Co-producers: Frequent Flyer Films (Michelle Shephard and Bryn Hughes) and the NFB (Lea Marin) | Ontario Studio 
The tale of a young refugee from Somalia and his relationship with the Canadian journalist who told his story, and in so doing, reluctantly became a part of it.

Le Silence – Feature
Director: Renée Blanchar 
Co-producers: Ça tourne Productions (Maryse Chapdelaine) and the NFB (Christine Aubé) | Canadian Francophonie Studio – Acadie 
Silence... must we keep it or break it? When is it destructive? The silence... of a victim, an executioner, a community, an institution... a filmmaker.

Love, The Last Chapter – Feature
Director: Dominique Keller
Co-producers: Keller Media (Dominique Keller & Karen Pickles) and NFB (Coty Savard & David Christensen) | North West Studio
A documentary exploring elder love stories within a seniors’ residence.

Projet 5 courts Rimouski – 5 shorts
Directors: Tom Jacques, Cynthia Naggar, Antoine Létourneau, Guillaume Lévesque, Nicolas Paquet, Xavier Sénéchal, Sébastien Dave Tremblay, Steve Verreault 
Producers: Colette Loumède in partnership with Paraloeil | French Program Documentary Studio | 100% ONF 
Fourth edition of Projet des 5 courts, after Quebec City, Saguenay and Abitibi. A collaboration between filmmakers and artists from the world of sound, questioning the reflexes of sound creation in documentary cinema.

Someone Like Me – Feature
Directors: Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams 
Producers: Shirley Vercruysse & Teri Snelgrove | BC & Yukon Studio | 100% NFB 
Someone Like Me follows the process of refugee sponsorship with a specific focus on the “Circles of Hope” facilitated by LGBTQ+ organization Rainbow Refugee.

The Lake Winnipeg Project – Short series
Director: Kevin Settee
Producer: Alicia Smith | North West Studio | 100% NFB
A Challenge for Change-inspired series of short documentaries shot in and around Lake Winnipeg exploring how Indigenous communities are responding to issues around water, land and hunting rights.  

ANIMATION

Caresses magiques – Short series
Director: Lori Malépart-Traversy 
Producer: Julie Roy | French Program Animation Studio | 100% NFB
From the director of the short film Le Clitoris. The filmmaker is inspired by women’s stories in the book Caresses magiques to create animated vignettes on female sexuality.

Two Apples – Short
Director: Bahram Javahry 
Producers: Teri Snelgrove & Shirley Vercruysse | BC & Yukon Studio | 100% NFB
In pursuit of a better future, a young girl decides to emigrate.

INTERACTIVE/IMMERSIVE

Roundup – Social Media Story
Director: Nettie Wild
Producer: Nicholas Klassen | Digital Studio (Vancouver) | 100% NFB
Part of Social Media Stories, Roundup contemplates the relationship between humans, animals, and landscape through captivating aerial views of a cattle roundup in northeastern BC.

This Is Not a Ceremony – 360 VR
Creator:  Ahnahktsipiitaa (Colin Van Loon)
Producer: Dana Dansereau | Digital Studio (Vancouver) | 100% NFB 
This Is Not a Ceremony asks viewers to witness struggles faced by Indigenous men in Canada and consider the role of “bearing witness” to injustice. Produced through the NFB/imagineNATIVE Interactive Partnership. 

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 this award-winning content and discover the work of NFB creators, visit NFB.ca, download its apps for mobile devices or visit NFB Pause.

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