4 shorts in competition by Alex Boya, Matea Radic, Abbey Collings and the duo of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski lead the expansive slate that includes a special screening of Donald McWilliams’ ‘A Return to Memory;’ festival runs September 24–28.
15 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) documentary and animation projects will be showcased at the 2025 Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), which runs September 24–28.You can find complete festival information here.
The lineup, which features works from animators across Canada, includes four films in competition by Alex Boya, Matea Radic, Abbey Collings and the duo of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, as well as a special screening of NFB filmmaker and past honorary festival president Donald McWilliams’ feature documentary, , illuminating the achievements of the intrepid women who helped create Canadian cinema.The NFB at OIAF 2025 slate includes: Shorts Competition: by Alex Boya A devoted sister races to save her brother, a bread-turned zombie.A mob of hungry living pursues.
Can love defy appetite? This darkly-delicious short by Montreal-based animator Alex Boya was selected to screen in the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.Actor Jay Baruchel voices all the characters in the original English version of this frenetic, surrealist satire of our dehumanizing society, designed as a continuous shot.by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski The latest stop-motion project by Montreal animation duo Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski ().
Narrated by Colm Feore with music by Patrick Watson, the film is a haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds.The film is in Official Competition at the Toronto International Film Festival.Welcome to a place where the houses have holes, tomatoes are ticking time bombs and snails wander the streets in search of a safe space.
In her short-film debut, Winnipeg-based artist Matea Radic uses absurdist animation, family photos, a wry sense of humor and her own slippery memories to return to the war-torn city of Sarajevo she fled as a child in the ’90s.Young Audiences 7-12 Competition is a tiny tale of self-discovery and the wonder of being special.The film explores the balance between learning from the world around us and staying true to ourselves.
Produced as part of the 15th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse mentorship program.Canadian Panorama by Martine Frossard Selected for the Official Competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.recounts the turbulent, surrealistic journey of a young woman struggling to rebuild herself, in defiance of social norms that tell us to repress our emotions.
by Duncan Major Chance encounters can leave a lasting effect, like ink on paper.is a heartfelt animated short about the lasting creative bond between two kindred spirits.by Katie Finn is a kinetic visceral experience that unfolds entirely from the point of view of an unfeeling computer system.
Produced as part of the 15th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse mentorship program.Special Screenings Universe Room – A Tribute to Clyde Henry Discover Clyde Henry — the stop-motion and illustration studio of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski — at this comprehensive retrospective screening.Includes their NFB works ; ; the vignettes and ; and the VR project .
, a feature documentary by Donald McWilliams When Canada entered World War II, the National Film Board suddenly had an urgent new mission—and hundreds of women stepped forward, helping to create Canadian cinema as we now know it.There will also be a special companion screening of animated shorts by Alma Duncan, Evelyn Lambart, and Gretta Ekman.NFB Gems Ryo Orikasa’s OIAF 2023 Grand Prize-winning short (Miyu Productions/NFB/New Deer) will be presented in the program “New Way, New World: Connecting Japanese Animators to the World.” Jacques Drouin’s landmark 1976 pinscreen animated short will be featured in “Touch Frame,” presented by 24 Memes Per Second.
Industry Event
Industry Connect: Animation Community Roundtable
The NFB’s distribution and production teams will be taking part in a dynamic networking session alongside several organizations.The event will focus on community development and inclusive collaboration — an opportunity to share ideas and make connections across the animation community.Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
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