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Animation on Urban Life (9)
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CitiesLillian Chan 2020 3 minDesigner Bruce Mau views the COVID-19 pandemic as a short-term crisis in a long-term trend toward positive development. He dares us to abandon our toxic lifestyle habits and urges us toward bolder urban design. -
BoomsvilleYvon Mallette 1968 10 minAn amusing diagnosis of big-city growing pains, Boomsville is an ironic view of town planning, or rather, the lack of it, and what has happened to our cities as a result. Done in cartoon animation, the film traces the growth of the typical city, from a tiny settlement in the vast North American wilderness to the car-clogged metropolis that so many cities are today. Film without words.
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The City (Osaka)Kaj Pindal 1970 7 minAn animated fantasy that shows Canadians as urbanized people developing a vast wilderness with the aid of the latest technologies. Shown as part of the Urban Environment exhibit in the Canadian pavilion at the international exposition, Osaka '70.
*Note: as this film was initially created as part of a wider exhibition, animation only begins at 2:16, after some music.* -
CityscapeRyan Larkin 1966 1 minIn this experimental animated short, Ryan Larkin creates a series of figures who move across the screen and disappear into a hole. Eventually, the hole metamorphoses into a bridge, on top of which stands the young man from whom the others figures originated.
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Inspector StreetEmmanuelle Loslier 2013 8 minThis short animation begins with a newspaper, discarded on a public bench, whose headlines warn of unusual phenomena. A gust of wind animates the paper's pages, conjuring strange and fantastical creatures: a bridge that becomes a caterpillar, a steeple turning into a bird, a dome transformed into an octopus. Elemental forces have been unleashed. Skilfully wielding paper cut-outs, origami, and a healthy dose of humour, filmmaker Emmanuelle Loslier plunges us into a fantastical world in which Montreal’s urban landscape has never been so alive.
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A Prairie StoryAnne Koizumi 2006 1 minIn this short animation film a prairie landscape undergoes a metamorphosis from rural idyll to over-urbanized dystopia. Director Anne Koizumi laments the changing face of her hometown of Calgary in this critique of the bacteria-like spread of suburbia and exurbia.
Produced as part of the third edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
PaulaDominic-Étienne Simard 2011 10 minInspired 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.
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ReflectionSylvie Trouvé 2012 4 minReflection is an exploration of Montreal through an abstract lens. Director Sylvie Trouvé examines how reflected images pervade our surroundings, how our senses filter out these ghost images and, finally, how the camera can capture emotions created by a shimmering puddle or a sparkling coloured glass surface. At the same time, Trouvé raises a new awareness of our urban environment. The editing, which animator Theodore Ushev collaborated on in a spirit of mutual emulation, embraces an animation aesthetic that fully respects the filmmaker’s artistic vision. While examining our relationship with images, this exploration of the city blurs the distinction between real-life shots and animation. Indeed, though inspired by reality, the film is thoroughly immersed in the world of animation.
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RainsDavid Coquard-Dassault 2008 7 minAs a sudden downpour lashes the city, all seek shelter. Just for a moment, time expands into immobility. Human activity slows down and almost stops. Some wait in a bus shelter, others are set on going out, if their umbrellas will open. Wiser, the birds just wait out the storm. When the rain stops, the bubble bursts and life goes on. A pencil-drawn animation film.
