A retrospective of one of the most acclaimed female animation filmmakers in the world.
To animation film buffs, Canadian filmmaker Michèle Cournoyer is no stranger. Known for her socially powerful works (including her many films with the National Film Board of Canada), her metamorphoses and surrealist touches, Cournoyer is one of Canada's dearest filmmaking treasures. Feminist in nature, her work often focuses on personal conflict and confronts powerful themes ranging from alcoholism and sexual abuse to other violations of the mind and body. Her trademark black ink style and morphing choreography - clearly on display in her most recognized short The Hat - aid to make her films uncompromising and incredibly tense. Cournoyer never fails to inspire us, even though we go with her to the darkest of places.
Julie Roy is one of this year's jury members and curated this special programme on Michèle Cournoyer. A well-respected producer of animated films, Roy was appointed Director General of Creation and Innovation at the National Film Board of Canada in May, 2020. She has produced more than 50 films and interactive projects, primarily animated shorts. Her notable recent productions include Jean-François Lévesque’s I Barnabé/Moi, Barnabé (2020); Regina Pessoa’s Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days/Oncle Thomas: La comptabilité des jours (2019), winner of the Jury Prize at the Annecy film festival; Patrick Bouchard’s The Subject/Le sujet (2018), which premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight; and Matthew Rankin’s The Tesla World Light/Tesla, lumière mondiale (2017), selected to screen in competition at the prestigious Cannes Critics’ Week.
In this animated short, a woman, taking on her lover's fantasies, adorns herself in her finest feathers and assumes a seductive but demeaning role. Caught up in his own game, the man plays on to the bitter end--a cruel game in which love is stripped of its golden glow, leaving only the naked reality of dependency and desperation.
An exploration of the connections between sex, love and technology. A woman connects to the Internet. She not only embraces technology but surrenders to it entirely as she sends her entire body and soul to her electronic lover. In this world of Pandora's boxes, sexual desire and dehumanizing machines intertwine till they're finally and brutally disconnected.
In this short animation, a girl is so carried away by her love of music that she forgets about her household chores. Her father tells her to finish the dishes. Instead of washing them, she turns them into musical instruments, and he finally recognizes her talent. Based on Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to develop their talents and abilities to their fullest potential.
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This animated short is a lyrical exploration of the impact of war on women, their bodies and their families. Bringing a feminist sensibility to a contemporary issue, it looks at what happens when war insinuates itself inside the very being of a woman—she who once gave life.
A woman plays out her existence on the screen of her life. Alcohol is the essence of her being. She imbibes her youth and becomes completely absorbed by the desire to satisfy her thirst. Moving from parties to binge drinking, pleasure to distress, joy to delirium, she lets herself be lulled by the undulating waves of bottles.
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A young woman works as an exotic dancer in a bar. She recalls an incident from her childhood in which she was physically abused by a male visitor. This inner journey brings back painful memories, including the obsessive image of a hat. Black-ink drawings, spare and rapidly executed, flow together in a succession of troubling and striking metamorphoses. The Hat is a tough, visceral experience. With naked honesty, animator Michèle Cournoyer invites the audience to share in the pain of a woman whose body is on display and whose soul is forever soiled. A film without words.
Kaboom Animation Festival is the one-stop-shop for the latest and greatest in all things animated. Ranging from cutting-edge experimental arthouse to colorful stories for families and kids, Kaboom will cater to the animation needs of all. Yes, even yours, my amazing weirdo friend!
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