Seven works produced or co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) have been selected for We Are One, an unprecedented online film festival streaming across the globe on YouTube from May 29 to June 7. More than 20 of the most prestigious festivals in the world — including Venice, Berlin, Cannes, Annecy, Tribeca and Toronto — are joining forces to present We Are One, which will also provide ways for viewers to donate to COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts.
The NFB titles selected are the acclaimed animated shorts Shannon Amen by Chris Dainty — which unearths the frantic, passionate and pained expressions of a young woman as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith — and The Procession by Pascal Blanchet and Rodolphe Saint-Gelais — about a woman who talks her husband through enduring the family funeral from beyond after her fatal car accident; and the VR animation work Minotaur by Munro Ferguson.
Shannon Amen, The Procession as well as NFB co-productions Léon in Wintertime, Molly in Springtime, Bonifacio in Summertime and Poppety in the Fall — a series of four enchanting, family-friendly animated films co-directed by Pierre-Luc Granjon and Antoine Lanciaux (Folimage/NFB/TPS Teletoon Divertissement Subsequence) — are making their World Online Premieres are part of the panoply of 13 shorts for a range of audiences curated by France’s esteemed Annecy Festival for We Are One.
“More than ever we need a sense of solidarity and sharing. More than ever we must celebrate the cinema and all those that make it possible. Annecy was immensely proud to be a part of We are One,” said Mickaël Marin, CEO of CITIA. “Thanks to Tribeca for conjuring up this wonderful joint adventure between festivals and thanks to the rights holders for answering our call. We hope that the public will discover or rediscover works and artists that we admire and that constitute the richness of our art. Long live the cinema, long live animation film!”
The Annecy selection — presented with the permission of the producers and distributors — also includes:
Shorts for Adults:
- Black Barbie by Comfort Arthur, produced by Bluemoon Productions – Online Premiere
- The Battle of San Romano by Georges Schwizgebel, produced by Studio GDS – Special Presentation (behind a paywall, special free screening for We Are One)
- The One-Minute Memoir by Joan Gratz, Christopher Hinton, Paul Driessen, Theodore Ushev, Dennis Tupicoff, Janet Perlman, Marv Newland, Jim Blashfield, Bill Plympton and Diane Obomsawin, produced by Gratzfilm – World Premiere (never been seen)
- Dew Line by Joanna Priestley, produced by Priestley Motion Pictures
Shorts for Families/Kids (all Online Premieres):
- Bird Karma by William Salazar, produced by DreamWorks Animation
- Bilby by Liron Topaz, Pierre Perifel and JP Sans, produced by DreamWorks Animation
- Marooned by Andrew Erekson, produced by DreamWorks Animation
