Atlantic Film Festival 2016 | 17 NFB Productions Featured

From Sept. 15-22, the 36th annual Atlantic Film Festival (AFF) will be bringing more than 225 films, documentaries and shorts to Halifax.

This year again, NFB productions will feature prominently at AFF, including a special showcase of the best in NFB animation and doc from across Atlantic Canada.

Here’s a quick look at the complete selection of NFB titles at the festival, including screening times and venues (follow the “Times and venues” links.)

Enjoy!

AFF

From Atlantic Canada: 3 world premieres and more

Mabel (Teresa MacIness) – Times and venues

Feisty and fiercely independent, 89 year-old hairdresser Mabel passionately styles her way through life towards the salon’s 70th year in business.

Mystery of the Secret Room (Wanda Nolan) – Times and venues

An inspiring portrait of family, adversity, and resilience, this richly hued animated short tells the tale of 10-year-old Grace, who uses her creative superpowers to navigate the emotional landscape of her mother’s depression.

Bluefin (John Hopkins) – Times and venues

A tale of epic stakes set in North Lake, Prince Edward Island, “the tuna capital of the world.”

HAND.LINE.COD (Justin Simms) – Times and venues

A film by Newfoundland director Justin Simms that takes audiences back to Fogo Island almost 50 years after Colin Low’s legendary Challenge for Change films.

Hand.Line.Cod (Trailer), Justin Simms, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Little Big Bang (Duncan Major) – Times and venues

Printed manually on a vintage tabletop press using hand-carved linoleum blocks, this very short animation is about a new parent who learns about free expression and the power of letting go.

Little Big Bang, Duncan Major, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

NFB films from across Canada

Theater of Life (Peter Svatek) – Times and venues

This feature doc puts a human face on the environmental impact of food waste.

Theater of Life (Trailer), Peter Svatek, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Gun Runners (Anjali Nayar) – Times and venues

The story of two North Kenyan warriors who’ve traded their rifles for sneakers to become professional marathoners.

Gun Runners (Trailer), Anjali Nayar, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

The Gift (Niobe Thompson) – Times and venues

Takes audiences inside an organ-transplant hospital, where life and death are in constant collision.

We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice (Alanis Obomsawin) – Times and venues

The latest from legendary documentarian Alanis Obomsawin, exploring a landmark court case over welfare services provided to First Nations children.

Angry Inuk (Alethea Arnaquq-Baril) – Times and venues

Angry Inuk (Trailer), Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s powerful challenge to the anti-sealing movement.

NFB shorts

Blind Vaysha (Theodore Ushev) – Times and venues

In this metaphoric tale of timeless wisdom, filmmaker Theodore Ushev reminds us of the importance of living in present moment.

Blind Vaysha (Trailer), Theodore Ushev, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

The Head Vanishes – Times and venues

The journey of an elderly woman living with degenerative dementia.

The Head Vanishes (Trailer), Franck Dion, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Oscar (Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre) – Times and venues

An animated documentary portrait of pianist Oscar Peterson at the twilight of his career

Fyoog – Times and venues

Inspired by found sound of a Toronto subway car, this surreal hybrid of stop-motion and 2D animation tells a story about a dream about a train.

Fyoog, Curtis Horsburgh, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Mindfork – Times and venues

Incorporating found sound of an English language lesson, this very short animation depicts a visual descent into madness triggered by the effort to keep it all together—even when it seems damn near impossible.

Mindfork, Catherine Dubeau, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

40th Anniversary Short Program

The WFNS 40th Anniversary Short Program will also feature 2 classic NFB Atlantic films, Sylvia Hamilton’s Speak It! From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia and Janice Platt’s Atlantis Films/NFB short drama The Trumpeter. Times and venues here.