Three films from The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) have been selected in the official competition of Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which will take place from 8 to 14 June 2025 in Annecy, France.
The three NFB shorts featured in this year’s official competition are:
The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (Madam Tutli-Putli, Gymnasia)
It is a 16 min handmade, stop-motion animated short by the Oscar-nominated duo of Lavis and Szczerbowski. It was previously featured at Annecy in a Work in Progress session in 2023. This modern fable explores greed, wonder and the power of fiction, and features a creative team of Patrick Watson (original score), Olivier Calvert (sound design), Colm Feore (voice, English version) and James Hyndman (voice, French version).
Bread Will Walk by Alex Boya (Turbine)
A devoted sister flees with her brother, a benevolent, bread-turned zombie. A mob pursues, mouths agape. Streets twist into mazes, reason dissolves, hunger reigns. Can love defy appetite?
The 11 mins 17 secs short features paper and 2D hand-drawn animation with digital collage. In the original English version of this social satire and timely, absurd dark comedy, every single character is voiced by actor Jay Baruchel. The sound design is by Calvert and the score was composed by Martin Floyd Cesar.
Hairy Legs by Andrea Dorfman (How to Be at Home, Flawed)
Deciding not to shave her legs at 13 led a young Andrea Dorfman to question and ultimately defy society’s expectations.
Blending 2D animation (ink, gouache and watercolour on paper) and stop-motion, the 17 min short Hairy Legs captures the universality of girls exploring gender, curiosity and freedom with charm, warmth and humour.
