Three Canadian filmmakers to work abroad for the first time
June 12, 2014 – Annecy, France – National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has entered animation co-production agreements with companies in Belgium, Germany and Poland. The NFB inked first-time deals with production companies Zorobabel (Belgium) for the film I Feel Nothing / Je ne sens plus rien by Carl Roosens and Noémie Marsily, as well as with Clay Traces GBR (Germany) and Fundacja Las Sztuki (Poland) for Sexy Laundry / Sexe pour blasés, directed by Izabela Plucinska.
The agreement also sees Canadian animation filmmakers travelling abroad to lend their talents to new co-productions: in France, Dominic Etienne Simard will work on Charles and the Frogs / Charles et les grenouilles (Les Films de l'Arlequin / DESanimations / NFB) and Janice Nadeau will make Mamie (Folimage/NFB), while in Germany, Claire Brognez will be an assistant animator on Sexy Laundry.
Quick Facts
• I Feel Nothing / Je ne sens plus rien by Carl Roosens and Noémie Marsily (writers, directors and animators)
o Synopsis: A bittersweet day in the lives of a couple. He is a magician, she a firefighter. Perched atop an engine ladder, they experience both the power of flames and of illusion, in an absurdist world populated by quirky characters.
o A Belgium (Delphine Renard and William Henne for Zorobabel) / Canada (Marc Bertrand for the NFB) co-production
o Expected completion date: December 2015
• Sexy Laundry / Sexe pour blasés by Izabela Plucinska, a renowned clay animation director
o Synopsis: Adapted from the play Sexy Laundry by Canada's Michele Riml. Armed with a copy of Sex for Dummies, Alice and Henry Lane spend a weekend in a hotel, looking for a bit of adventure to light a spark in their relationship after 25 years of routine in the bedroom. The film's masterful dialogue offers a tragicomic inventory of this stagnating couple's lives, but also evokes their intimacy, myriad memories and, at the end of the day, a passion that still burns.
o A Germany (Clay Traces GBR) / Poland (Fundacja Las Sztuki) / Canada (NFB) co-production
o Expected completion date: March 2015
• Charles and the Frogs / Charles et les grenouilles by Dominic Etienne Simard (director of the NFB-produced Paula)
o Synopsis: Charles lives in atypical family surroundings, left to fend for himself since earliest childhood. Every day, he makes a huge breakfast for his mother, an overweight woman imprisoned in her own body. As a result, he's often late for school. His classmates find it funny, while the teacher looks the other way. Charles defends himself as best he can: he creates a swampy dream world of his own where he can seek refuge when things get really bad. Frogs are his allies through these tough times, as small problems grow into big ones. Charles and the Frogs is the story of a neglected child's resilience.
o A France (Dora Benousilio for Les Films de l'Arlequin) / Canada (DESanimations / Julie Roy for the NFB) co-production
o Expected completion date: Spring 2016
• Mamie by Janice Nadeau (co-director with Nicola Lemay of No Fish Where to Go, an NFB production in competition at Annecy 2014)
o Synopsis: “My maternal grandmother was never all that interested in us grandkids. For the longest time, I wondered why she was that way. So I decided to make this film to seek my own answer to that question. When I was six, I took the train to visit my grandma in the summer. I only saw her two or three times over the next 28 years. So my most vivid memories of her are filtered through a child's vision. I remember meeting a cold and distant woman at the time.” – Janice Nadeau
o A France (Corinne Destombes for Folimage) / Canada (Marc Bertrand for the NFB) co-production
o Expected completion date: April 2015
• Claire Brognez, assistant animator on Sexy Laundry by Izabela Plucinska
o Claire Brognez trained as an animator in both Europe and Canada. Her stop-motion animated short Marguerite was in competition at the 2014 Annecy festival.
o She built the puppets for Patrick Bouchard's NFB-produced stop-motion film Bydlo.
Promotional material
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About the NFB
Beginning May 2, 2014, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) marks 75 years of innovation and leadership in film and interactive media. The NFB produces groundbreaking animation at its studios in Montreal and at NFB centres across Canada, as well as via international co-productions with many of the world's foremost auteur animators. A leader in the development of new approaches to stereoscopic 3D animation and animated content for new platforms, the NFB has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5,000 awards, including 9 Canadian Screen Awards, 8 Webbys, 12 Oscars and more than 90 Genies. To access acclaimed NFB content, visit NFB.ca or download its apps for smartphones, tablets and connected TV.
