The NFB at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is participating in the 2022 Annecy International Animation Film Festival with two short films in competition, made by uniquely talented, award-winning women directors. More than 10 years after the release of their last animated film, internationally acclaimed filmmakers Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis are back with The Flying Sailor. In addition, Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics, by award-winning Orkney Cree Métis artist Terril Calder, will screen in the Perspectives program, which spotlights works with unique points of view. Taking place June 13–18, 2022, Annecy is an essential event that welcomes animation creators and professionals annually—the world’s largest festival dedicated solely to animation.

Quick facts

Short Films – Official Competition

The Flying Sailor (Le matelot volant) by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (7 min 45 s)
Producer: David Christensen (NFB)
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-flying-sailor

• Inspired by true events, the highly anticipated new film by Oscar-nominated duo Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis is a meditation on a sailor’s unexpected voyage.

• Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis met at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, where they studied film, video and animation. Each went on to create their own works with the NFB (Wendy Tilby’s Strings and Jan Padgett’s The Reluctant Deckhand, animated by Amanda Forbis) before co-directing When the Day Breaks, which received an Oscar nomination and more than 30 international awards, including the Palme d’Or at Cannes. In 2012, their animated short film Wild Life received an Academy Award nomination, among other honours.

Perspectives program – Films in Competition

Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics by Terril Calder (19 min 22 s)
Producer: Jelena Popović (NFB); consulting producer: Jason Ryle
Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/meneath/

• In this stop-motion film, creator Terril Calder charts a challenging journey for a precocious Métis baby girl as she contemplates her path to Hell.

• The short film was selected to screen at the 2022 Berlin festival after its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Awards to date:
o Audience Award for Best Canadian Short Film, 2021 GIRAF Festival of Independent Animation in Calgary
o Canada’s Top Ten Shorts, TIFF, 2021
o Special Mention, Canadian Film Institute Award for Best Canadian Animation, 2021 Ottawa International Animation Festival

• One of the foremost Métis media artists practising in Canada today, Terril Calder is a multi-disciplinary creator born in Fort Frances, Ontario, and currently living in Toronto.

Related Products

Electronic Press Kits | Images, trailer, synopses: The Flying Sailor | Meneath: the hidden island of ethics

Associated Links
Annecy Festival
Berlin Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
GIRAF Festival of Independent Animation
Ottawa International Animation Film Festival

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a leader in exploring animation as an artform, a storytelling medium and innovative content for emerging platforms. It produces trailblazing animated works both in its Montreal studios and across  the country, and it works with many of the world’s leading creators on international co-productions. NFB productions have won more than 7,000 awards, including seven Oscars for NFB animation and seven grand prizes at the Annecy festival. To access this unique content, visit NFB.ca.