Jean-François Lévesque / Canada / 2008 / 13 min / Grade 5+

Aparna Kapur / Canada / 2008 / 6 min / Grade 5+
This poetic narration of a young girl's life explores her deep symbiotic relationship with her grandmother and how their love for one another surpasses this physical world.
Screens again at 11:45am as part of Reel Focus program: Animation Nation

Kunal Sen / Canada / 2008 / 7 min / Grade 5+
Caramel custard, ping pong and potty all play an important role in this charming animation about a young Indian boy exploring where he came from as he prepares for the performance of a lifetime. Based on actual events, the film spans 40 years, two generations, and playfully points to the next!
 

*Vancouver Premiere
Milen Vitnov / Germany, Bulgaria / 2007 / 5min / Grade 3+
This unique animation, which makes clever use of simple pencil and paper, tells the story of a dog who finds the best friend he could ever imagine - his own tail!
 
Screens again at 11:45am as part of Reel Focus program: Animation Nation

 *Canadian Premiere
Saga no gabai baachan
Hitoshi Kurauchi / Japan / 2007 / 101 min

Themes: coping with adversity, family relationships, Japanese culture and traditions, perseverance
Set in a rural village in southern Japan in the late 1950s, the film tells the story of seven-year-old Akihiro. When his bar-hostess mother finds it a struggle to support her two sons, he is whisked away from Hiroshima to live with his grandmother in small-town Saga. Akihiro’s unconventional yet charming “super granny” is an expert in finding the bright side of everything despite living in severe poverty. Based on the autobiographical novel of Japanese comedian Yoshichi Shimada, Super Granny is a delightful story that celebrates the wealth and importance of family ties, even in the most meager times.

Mike Maryniuk, Matthew Rankin / Canada / 2008 / 4 min / Grade 7+
This high-speed animated documentary about the North American art of livestock auctioneering features the mesmerizing verbal talents of master auctioneer Tim Dowler. The film uses a variety of classic and avant-garde animation.
Screens again at 11:45am as part of Reel Focus program: Animation Nation

Fabrice Joubert / France / 2008 / 8 min / Grade 5+
In a fancy Parisian Café, an uptight businessman finds out that he has lost his wallet, and that he can't pay the bill. To postpone paying, he decides to order more coffee...
Screens again at 11:45am as part of Reel Focus program: Animation Nation

*Vancouver Premiere
Daniel Janke / Canada / 2008 / 16 min / Grade 5+
The magic of storytelling is revisited with the tale of how Chicken Hawk and Crow find fire for cooking salmon and why Chicken Hawks have short beaks.
Screens again at 11:45am as part of Reel Focus program: Animation Nation

*Vancouver Premiere
Mats Grorud / Norway / 2008 / 9 min / Grade 5+
This clay animation is a story about the modernization of Beijing, as told through the eyes of a young boy, playing with his old, wrinkly grandmother.
Screens again at 11:45am as part of Reel Focus program: Animation Nation

Themes: First Nations history, documentary, historical, re-enactment, oral tradition, and racism

It was news that shook the English-speaking world. Celebrated British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew of 128 men had perished in the Arctic ice during an ill-fated attempt to discover the Northwest Passage. More shocking, they had descended into madness and cannibalism. The report came in 1851, from John Rae, a doctor from Orkney working for the Hudson's Bay Company. But Rae's horrific news did not sit well with Sir John's widow, Lady Franklin, nor with the Admiralty, nor with many others in British society, including Charles Dickens. They waged a bitter public campaign that would discredit Rae's version of events, banish him to the margins of history and mark the entire nation of Inuit with the horrifying label of murderous cannibals.

This animated film tells the traditional Haida story of a little boy who turns into a tree.

Jim Verburg / Canada / 2008 / 2 min
Through a collage of family photographs, photocopies, and personal audio recordings Verburg creates layered and obstructed narrative exploring memory and family history. The film testifies that the telling is often an act of emotional encryption, leaving the younger generation to decipher messages between what has been communicated and what hasn't.

John Bolton / Canada / 2008 / 15min / Grade 8+
This disquieting story of three teenagers caught in a web of sex, money and self-regard is set against the backdrop of the first Robert Pickton verdict.
Director in attendance.
Director John Bolton

Peg Campbell / Canada / 2008 / 20 min / Grade 8+
This deeply personal narrative explores the hopes and fears in mother-daughter relationships. Using archival family footage and current interviews, Campbell weaves an evocative tapestry of three generations of women. Director in attendance.

*Vancouver Premiere
Marly Reed / Canada / 2008 / 12 min Grade 8+
Elizabeth is haunted by events in her past. While being interrogated by a police detective, memories flash through her mind, and she tries to reconstruct what really happened. Torn between doctrinaire religious beliefs, and the fear that she is losing her mind, Elizabeth struggles to make sense of her past.
Director in attendance.

Jimi Cuell / Canada / 2008 / 8 min / Grade 7+
A tribute to Michael Jackson's Thriller music video, this film was written, shot, and edited in 48 hours for the Bloodshots 2008 filmmaking competition.
Writer in attendance and actor in attendance.[move to next line]
Director in attendance.

*BC Premiere
Nathan Collett / Kenya, Somalia / 2008 / 7 min / Grade 8+
This film tells the dramatic story of two brothers who are trapped in a murderous cycle of environmental and cultural devastation in Somalia. The first fictional film shot on location in Somalia in over 15 years, Charcoal Traffic features a local cast with no previous acting experience.

Marc Brummund / Germany / 2007 / 20 min / Grade 8+
Andrej and Lena have been living illegally in Germany for years. When their son Mischa reaches school age, they can't hide any longer. Mischa's future is at stake, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure a bright one, whatever the risks.

Kamala Todd / Canada / 2008 / 9 min / Grade 8+
In the language of the Squamish Nation, Cease Wyss was given the name 'T'Uy'Tanat', meaning "Woman who travels by canoe to gather medicines for all people." In director Kamala Todd's lyrical portrait, Wyss reveals the remarkable healing powers of plants growing among the sprawling urban streets of downtown Vancouver.