René Chénier

Pilots on the Way Home

Having suffered the loss of their plane, three pilots inexplicably find themselves stranded in the middle of the desert. While following the perilous and unpredictable course that will ultimately lead them home, they fall prey to visions and must confront the siren call of their own strange fantasies. With Pilots on the Way Home, Priit and Olga Pärn (Divers in the Rain) have created a new, satirical meditation on male-female relations. The film tackles masculinity and the male psyche with the same pointed sense of the absurd that has marked Priit Pärn's previous films. Pilots on the Way Home is also a journey through time and space, and to the universal sources of artistic eroticism. Olga Pärn is a master of the art of animating sand, giving Priit Pärn's unique line drawings a warm and subtle texture reminiscent of etching. Her work is perfectly matched to the impassioned beats of this tale. - Written by NFB

No Fish Where to Go

Marie-Francine Hébert based the script for No Fish Where to Go on her book, which was published in 2003 and illustrated by Janice Nadeau. Directed by Nicola Lemay and Nadeau, this modern tale compassionately and poetically addresses intolerance and the consequences of war.

Bydlo

An allegory of mankind heading for disaster, this animated short is a tragic vision inspired by the 4th movement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Drawing on the composer’s brilliant ability to evoke work and labour in his music, animator Patrick Bouchard brings earth to life through animated clay sculptures, creating a tactile nightmare in which man is his own slave driver.

Rated R for Nudity

A playful stab at mass hypnosis. Celebrating the mesmerizing power of movies, mischievous glimpses into a subconscious world inhabited by Bergman, Spielberg... and Bo Derek.

Paula

Inspired by a real-life news item, this animated short paints a pulsating portrait of a mixed-use, working-class neighbourhood where young families cross paths with prostitutes, their interactions leaving unpredictable ripples in the motley fabric of urban life.

The Necktie

A solitary man works in a tall office building. The only moment in his drab life that's out of the ordinary each year seems to be opening the birthday card and gift from his mother. Usually it's a tie, but one year it's an accordion. It goes into the closet with his many ties. A year or two later, he discovers what happens to the papers he processes every day. His discovery sends him first to the building's top floor, then to his closet.

The Favourite Game

As a kid, Leo thought he possessed, like a magician, the secret power to make things happen. As a young man, he certainly knows how to make things happen with women. But as his best friend Krantz would say to him, "Why do you always ask questions you already know answers to?" Leo believes firmly in what he invents from one day to the next. Images, impressions, stories fill his head. That's just how he is: life, for Leo, is just a game. Behind this childlike attitude, hides the very essence of his own life's quest.