6 p.m. to 1 a.m. – ALL ACTIVITIES FREE OF CHARGE!
A Pop-Fuelled Night for the Whole Family!
Join us for a night of free activities! Experience a non-stop screening of our most POPular shorts and participate in a quiz challenge to hunt for hidden characters in a short film. Enjoy a POP-UP, behind-the-scenes experience with The Girl with the Red Beret, where you’ll help co-create an animated scene by sharing ideas as filmmaker Janet Perlman draws live, with the participation of the STM. Plus, we’re rolling out the red carpet and offering a GIF opportunity with an Oscar®.
Come celebrate 85 years of creativity and innovation with us, in a festive and colourful atmosphere—perfect for families and film lovers alike!
Presented as part of Nuit Blanche à Montréal
TAKE A SELFIE WITH AN OSCAR®
Your turn to shine on the red carpet! Pose with one of two real Oscars®: the Honorary Academy Award given to the NFB in 1988 for excellence in every area of filmmaking, and the Oscar® for Norman McLaren’s film Neighbours in 1953.
Then share your GIF: dazzle your followers with your star power on your socials!
THE GIRL WITH THE RED BERET
With the participation of the STM.
Immerse yourself in the creative process as filmmaker Janet Perlman takes you behind the scenes of her animated short The Girl with the Red Beret, a joyous, heartwarming animated short set in the Montreal metro, and help co-create an animated scene by sharing your ideas with filmmaker Janet Perlman as she draws live at the NFB Space.
ENJOY AN ASSORTMENT OF SHORT FILMS
Take in two delightful programs of short documentaries and animated films screening in a loop. Original, award-winning, Oscar®-nominated, hilarious films. There’s something for everyone.
*Approximate runtime 30 minutes, no reservations required
Program 1 schedule – In French
18:15 / 19:00 / 19:45 / 20:30
Program 2 schedule – Bilingual
21:15 / 22:00 / 22:45 / 23:30 / 12:15
PROGRAM 1
Meltdown
Carrie Mombourquette, 2012
Without words
In this short animation, a polar bear must try his luck finding a job in the big city when the last of his Arctic ice environment disappears. It’s hard fitting into the human world, however, so this bear finds a more creative solution to his predicament.
The Turtle Syndrome
Samuel Cantin, 2021
Original French version with English subtitles
What could the illness afflicting Henri Castagnette be? Filled with anxiety, the young man puts his fate in the hands of the off-puttingly exuberant Dr. Von Strudel. In The Turtle Syndrome, Samuel Cantin, author of the popular “motormouth” graphic novels Phobie des moments seuls and Whitehorse, recounts the story of an endearing anti-hero’s frenzied and hilarious medical appointment.
North Star – Observation
Patrick Bossé, 2023
Original French version
Laurie returns to the Ashuapmushuan Wildlife Reserve to meet with her father. Here, as a child, she honed her sense of observation, which today serves her well in her astronomy career.
I Like Girls
Diane Obomsawin, 2016
Original French version
In this animated short from Diane Obomsawin, four women reveal the nitty-gritty about their first loves, sharing funny and intimate tales of one-sided infatuation, mutual attraction, erotic moments, and fumbling attempts at sexual expression. For them, discovering that they’re attracted to other women comes hand-in-hand with a deeper understanding of their personal identity and a joyful new self-awareness.
PROGRAM 2
The Mental Load for Dummies
Jessy Poulin, 2018
Original French version with English subtitles
In this humorous “experiential” documentary, the words of four overworked Abitibi women encourage viewers to reflect on work/family balance and the dangers of exhaustion.
Boat People
Kjell Boersma and Thao Lam, 2023
Original English version with French subtitles
As a child in Vietnam, Thao’s mother often rescued ants from bowls of sugar water. Years later they would return the favour. Boat People is an animated documentary that uses a striking metaphor to trace one family’s flight across the turbulent waters of history.
Corpus and the Wandering
Jo Roy, 2024
Without words
One dancer, one body, one phone. In a time of collective alienation and technological mass control, one woman rediscovers her soul and reclaims her mind. A short, experimental self-portrait composed of 100 video screens, Corpus and the Wandering transcends the walls of a fragmented grid system to uncover the shared humanity in each of us, and our place in the cosmos.
Neighbours
Norman Mclaren, 1952
Without words
In this short film, Norman McLaren employs the principles normally used to put drawings or puppets into motion to animate live actors. The story is a parable about two people who come to blows over the possession of a flower.