International Women’s Day Playlist (Ages 9-11)

Keyu Chen makes use of fine lines and fluid transitions in her delicately crafted first film, which tells the tale of a young girl who, driven by the irrepressible need for self-fulfillment, dreams of leaving the family nest.

This short animation is a zany version of the classic fairy tale, with the leading role played by a mistreated, romantic penguin, with hilarious results. Cinderella Penguin loses her magic flipper as she runs to meet her midnight deadline, but all ends well when Prince Charming finds the right webbed foot and the nasty step-family is brought to heel.

This experimental short animation is inspired by the NFB's Studio D (1975-1994), a production department aimed at creating filmmaking opportunities for women in Canada. Featuring a rhythmic soundscape and paint-on-glass animation, Assembly shows a woman’s hands cutting and editing a reel of film on a flatbed editing table as fragments of women walking in chains, protesting with placards, and speaking at podiums are inter-cut. We hear bursts of words and the percussive whir and click of the Steenbeck—until a “message” is finally revealed. The film is dedicated to the memory of Kathleen Shannon, a prominent editor and one-time Executive Producer of Studio D.

It’s carnival in Balthasarville and the scoundrel Bonifacio is scheming to overthrow Léon and become King Quack. But he’s outsmarted by Molly Gingerbread and her friend Hedgehog, who manage to save the townspeople Bonifacio has poisoned. This puppet animation by Pierre-Luc Granjon tells a medieval tale of treachery and love.

In this charming animated film, two women knit and recall moments from their lives--memories of their neighbours, husbands, mothers and of other women knitting. Pastel drawings, music and a lively soundtrack evoke the past.

This animated short by Theodore Ushev combines warmth, humour and magic in a story about a young girl who misses her grandmother. When Lili finds a tzaritza (magic shell) along the seashore, she hatches a plan to bring her Grandma from Bulgaria to Montreal to make her father happy. Part of the Talespinners collection, the film features music by Normand Roger.

Imagine that your grandmother used to iron the king’s shirts! This tall tale turned out to be true for Oscar®-winning filmmaker Torill Kove, who expanded a family myth to create an entertaining animated short with a historical twist. My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts is Kove’s surprising and whimsical recounting of an unlikely career in service of an unusual monarch. And when World War II comes to Kove’s native Norway and the king is forced to flee, her grandmother’s skills play a key role in the guerilla resistance against the invading Nazis.

This short animation tells the story of Saoussan, a young girl struggling to adjust to life in Canada after being uprooted from her wartorn homeland. She has come to seek a quieter and safer life, although memories of war and death linger, memories that are awakened when the children at her new school prepare for a scary Halloween. From Far Away speaks to the power within us all to adapt like Saoussan and to welcome a newcomer.

Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.

In this animated short, based on a story by Paul Yee, Maylin cooks mouth-watering meals at her father's restaurant in Chinatown, but her father and brothers take all the credit. When a dignitary from China visits and tastes one her dishes, Maylin finally earns recognition.

This film is part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.