Michael Fukushima

Look out: Beryl's back. With Affairs of the Art, British animator Joanna Quinn recounts another gloriously unhinged chapter in the adventures of Beryl, the comic everywoman she unleashed upon the world with her debut film, Girls' Night Out, which took home three major awards from Annecy in 1987.

A young Canadian poet with Chinese and Persian parents travels to Iran to perform at a poetry festival.

Emile is an unhappy little vampire, doing a job he detests, in a world plunged into perpetual gloom. He serves a despotic mistress who loathes wrinkles, in the most extreme way.

Two little men float into the deep blue sky, tied to balloons. But then each decides the sky belongs to him. This film was made as part of the fourth edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

When an advanced race of giant lobsters from outer space land on Earth, no one can figure out why they've come. A complete failure to communicate on both ends leads to panic and pandemonium. Why are they here? What do they want? In this clever throwback to the ‘50s B-movie, a small neighbourhood learns the value of clear communication.

An imaginative boy suffers the stifling ordinariness of his family's weekly Sunday ritual.

Look out: Beryl's back. With Affairs of the Art, British animator Joanna Quinn recounts another gloriously unhinged chapter in the adventures of Beryl, the comic everywoman she unleashed upon the world with her debut film, Girls' Night Out, which took home three major awards from Annecy in 1987.

A young Canadian poet with Chinese and Persian parents travels to Iran to perform at a poetry festival.

Emile is an unhappy little vampire, doing a job he detests, in a world plunged into perpetual gloom. He serves a despotic mistress who loathes wrinkles, in the most extreme way.

Two little men float into the deep blue sky, tied to balloons. But then each decides the sky belongs to him. This film was made as part of the fourth edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

When an advanced race of giant lobsters from outer space land on Earth, no one can figure out why they've come. A complete failure to communicate on both ends leads to panic and pandemonium. Why are they here? What do they want? In this clever throwback to the ‘50s B-movie, a small neighbourhood learns the value of clear communication.

An imaginative boy suffers the stifling ordinariness of his family's weekly Sunday ritual.

In this animated short, filmmaker Chris Hinton and composer Michael Oesterle leap back and forth between picture and sound. The dynamic movement of Hinton's visual art dances in syncopation with the bold musical strokes of an original modern classical composition. Without words.

A polar bear must try his luck finding a job in the big city when the last of his Arctic ice environment disappears. It’s hard fitting into the human world, however, so this bear finds a more creative solution to his predicament. This film was made as part of the 8th edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Director Carrie Haber delves deep into the anxiety, thrill and uncertainty of six aspiring animation artists as they are plunged into the twelve-week trial-by-fire that is the NFB's Hothouse for animation filmmakers.

A marvellous example of extreme animation. Jacob Bauming shows us a whirling dervish of sensory overload, with a tenuous connection to snazzy “aquatics,” using them as a trigger for his wild and manic imagination. This film was made as part of the first edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Little bald Léon loves his grandfather. He loves the old man's bushy black beard, which seems endowed with magic powers.

An informal look into the personalities and frenzy behind the second edition of the NFB Animation Hothouse. The six Hothouse filmmakers and their NFB collaborators comment on the nature of auteur animation, the place and role of the NFB in that world and the excitement and fear of making a first professional film.

Roots is a one-of-kind produce's-eye journey through a supermarket-and through the highly sensitive issue of adoption disclosure. As a series of fruit and vegetables each drop into a shopping cart, they quickly get caught up in a conversation about origins.

A little creature watches the transformation of a feather and follows a whale to where icebergs melt, leaving birds with nowhere to land. The materials used include old gloves, costume jewellery and Plasticine. Technique: puppet and object animation with drawn animation. This film was made as part of the third edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

The story of a young Mi'kmaq girl whose name means "the light from the dawn."

In this autobiographical animated short, Elise Simard crafts the story of a young girl seeking self-discovery and rebirth. Drifting between real and imagined events, the film uses time-lapse photography with ink and pastels, creating a haunting, compassionate exploration of addiction and existence.

In this short animation Damien Hess attempts to connect with the tragedy of the First World War, a conflict that helped define Canada. In this film he uses imagery of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial monument in northern France to summon up names, faces and shadows that are fading from our memory. This film was made as part of the third edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

The tale of a tragic love story set in Newfoundland. When illness takes the woman he loves, a simple man raises his voice in melancholy song as a last farewell. The film, based on a song by local musician Emile Benoit, is anchored in a beautiful, remote corner of the province, and pays homage to its land, sea and the harsh lives of the local fishermen.

A look into the creative process and frenzy behind the third edition of the NFB Animation Hothouse. This zippy, mini-documentary reflects the youthful iconoclasm of the six emerging filmmakers and Jason Lee, the documentary director.

In this short animation, a young boy takes a flying leap away from normal, waves goodbye to his classmates, and disappears into the cityscape and beyond. At the same time, a young girl is inspired to reinvent her space with art.

Thea Pratt explores the exhilarating moment of a poetic dive. The movement of the puppet diver is influenced by Norman McLaren, Leni Riefenstahl and Busby Berkeley. Dancing light, frothing oceans, rolling rivers and calm lakes describe in photographic images the diver’s own stream of consciousness. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Megann Reid evokes the solitude and warmth of a bath. Drawn with water colour pencil crayons on frosted acetate, the animation was done under a digital camera. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

In this animated short, Mrs. Popcorn is shocked to discover a worm in her canned drink. When the beverage company refuses to accept the blame, she's outraged! An intrepid consumer, Mrs. Popcorn takes the company to court for negligence. Understanding the Law: The Worm is episode two in a series of short films designed to demystify everyday aspects of Canadian civil law. Wry humour and a whimsical style make this informative series lively and memorable.

A robot rambles about frenetically, receiving countless electronic messages through his antenna every second. Despite his fatigue and stress, he never slows down. The only thing that might bring his frantic journey to an end is a traffic accident. This film was made as part of the third edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

This experimental animation film examines society's deification of architecture and urbanization in the modern world and the impact on our relationship to nature. This film was made with the NFB Hothouse program for emerging filmmakers.

Diane Obomsawin's whimsical animated short follows medicine man Walk-in-the-forest on a walk in the woods that leads to the discovery of an intriguing secret world.

A pithy critique of society's commercialization of water, abetted by an utter disregard for the future. The film is a mixed media whirlwind of hyperactive animated collage. This film was made as part of the first edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Seeking shelter from a thunderstorm, a man sits in a pub watching the ice in his glass melt away. Howie Shia marries his graphic illustration style with subtle animation and a haunting soundtrack to conjure up anxiety and foreboding. He used pen and ink on tracing paper and later composited and coloured digitally. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

“A primary metaphor for dance is simply transformation,” explains Peggy Baker as her image dissolves into a flurry of loose contour drawings and ink splatters. Built around an intimate interview with the acclaimed Canadian dancer and choreographer, Peggy Baker Four Phrases is an artful animation and documentary hybrid that travels through a variety of techniques to celebrate Baker’s work and legacy.

Five animals meet regularly to discuss their inner angst in a group therapy session led by Dr. Clement, a canine psychotherapist. The group includes Lorraine, a leech who suffers from separation anxiety; Cheryl, a praying mantis who can’t seem to keep a man; Todd, a pig with an eating disorder; Jeffrey, a bird with guilt issues; and Linda, an obsessive-compulsive cat.

Marielle Guyot uses her computer skills with great artistic sensibility to bring the sea to life, death, and hopefully, life again. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Inside the Hothouse takes an informal look at this NFB experiment, Animation Hothouse, at its halfway point. In a handheld, gritty style, Inside the Hothouse gives the viewer a glimpse into the project and the participants' perspectives.

Claire Blanchet directs this visually stunning stereoscopic animation, adapted from Heather O’Neills eponymous slice of Montreal noir.

In Newfoundland filmmaker Mary Lewis' live action/animation hybrid short film, a talking goldfish tells us the poignant story of his best friend, Sparky the dog, and Sparky's owner, a young girl suffering from a serious illness. The dog lords an unusual reign on a harbour city, but his bond to the girl is tested when her illness takes a dark turn.

While dissecting a frog in Biology class, a 12-year-old boy speculates about what he would do if he were God.

Koji Yamamura's allegory the immutability of time, love and devotion, and the unbreakable nature of the parent-child bond, into interlacing story.

A “water poem,” set in a Japanese ofuro hot bath. It explores water as a medium and repository for collective stories and was created in a hybrid new media form using animation, video and split screens. This film was made as part of the first edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

A tale of Victorian-era folly ends in tragedy. Kevin Langdale's graphic style brims with the majesty of human ambition and the indomitable and sometimes destructive power of the natural world. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Canada 3-D is a 60 second video, 3-D whirlwind tour of what it means to be Canadian, through the lens of director and animator, George Geertsen. Apparently it means a lot--everything from early explorers to one room schoolhouses, the Depression, the World Wars, the Baby Boom, EXPO 67, sports highlights and the one experience that every single Canadian shares: winter! A film without words.

Directed by Japanese filmmaker Ryo Orikasa, this animated short was inspired by Henri Michaux’s book of poetry and drawings of the same name, about his experiences with mescaline. The film explores the limits of language and perception, creating connections between sound, meaning, shapes and movement.