The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more
Skip to content Accessibility

The Trenches

Claude Cloutier
2010 | 5 min
This animated short by Claude Cloutier is a pictorial account of an attack on Canadian soldiers during WWI. On the edge of the battlefield, recruits are dreading the order to attack. At the signal, a young soldier leaps into a hell of fire and blood where the earth engulfs both the living and the dead. Blending archival images and Cloutier’s hypnotizing brushstroke, the film is a dazzling illustration of the futility of war.

Awards and distinctions

  • Anima Mundi Itinerant Award- with a cash prize of $700 BRL (approx. $400 CDN)
    Anima Mundi, Rio de Janeiro
    2011
  • Best Animation
    New York City Short Film Festival, New York
    2010