FESTIVAL SCHEDULE: April 13

Swift

Kristen Campbell Canada 5min

A young girl and a red fox follow each other in nature through the seasons. Everything in their environment is seen as potential sustenance. A striking animation, Swift is a playful story about the organic cycles of life and the mental associations that the survival instinct can trigger.

RATING: G

2012 Winner  - TIFF Student Film Showcase - Best Animated Film

Swift, was produced as a graduating project at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver.

 

The Fox and the Chickadee

Evan De Rushie Canada 9min

This charming stop-motion animated fable tells the story of how a starving fox and a cunning chickadee, who find themselves trapped in a standoff.  The chickadee turns the tables on the fox by proposing a plan that would provide enough food for the winter. But there's a catch: the two will need to work together in order to feast.

Rating: G

Preceds: Ernest & Célestine

The Fox and the Chickadee

Evan De Rushie Canada 2012 8min

This charming stop-motion animated fable tells the story of a starving fox and a cunning chickadee. They find themselves trapped in a standoff. Without chance on his side, the chickadee turns the tables on the fox by proposing a plan that would feed him for the winter. But there's a catch: the two will need to work together to steal the feast.

Check out the director's website here.

The Old Woman in the Woods

Caroline Coutts Vancouver, Canada 26min

A Gothic fairy tale combining live action and stop motion puppet animation to tell the story of two little girls who disobey their mother for a glimpse into a magical other world and end up paying dearly for their caprice. The screenplay, adapted from the classic fairy tale "The New Mother," by Lucy Lane Clifford, is set in England in 1882.
In the film, Hanna and Mary meet an old woman with an ornate wooden box, inside which exists a magical fairytale land. The girls beg to see inside the box, but are told they are not grown-up enough. But they can prove they are grown-up by doing what they want, not what their mother tells them.
As the girls are manipulated into greater and greater demonstrations of wickedness, their mother is forced to abandon them. The new mother who replaces her is a terror to behold…

RATING: G ( May frighten young children)

Director Caroline Coutts will be in attendance.

Caroline Coutts was born in Wick, Scotland and moved to Canada with her family when she was three years old. She is a graduate of the Directors' Lab at the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto and has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of British Columbia. Caroline's work as a filmmaker references fables, fairy tales and myths. Her films take place long ago, or in fantasy worlds, and evidence a distinct visual style. In storytelling, Caroline strives for a subversive (sometimes comic) approach that combines with a female sensibility to give a new spin to age-old tales.

Why Do We Put Up With Them?

David Chai USA 3min

"This animated poem is about a little stinker I love."

RATING: G

Wunderkinder

Marcus O. Rosenmüller Germany 2011 100min

LANGUAGE: German with English Subtitles

PRECEDED BY: Breaking Bread in the Holy Land

Set in 1941 during World War II in the Ukraine, the young and highly talented violinist Abrascha Kaplan and the no less gifted pianist Larissa Brodsky are celebrated as child prodigies of classical music. They play in all of Russia's great concert halls - before the party elite and even Stalin himself. Hanna, daughter of the German brewer Max Reich, is herself a talented violinist and wishes for nothing more than to be taught with the Russian "Wunderkinder." Larissa and Abrascha are reluctant to accept the German girl until their teacher Irina Salmonova consents to teach Hanna - and a close friendship develop between the children. But when Hitler unexpectedly invades Russia, their friendship is put to a hard test.

In the tradition of The Pianist, Life Is Beautiful and The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Wunderkinder is a triumph of human resilience, compassionately exploring a dark era of history through the innocence of youth.

Themes: World War II, Anti-Semitism, prejudice, war, music, friendship, hardship

Mature content: violence, shooting, person shot, guns, death (seen and discussed)

Rating: PG (Violence)

Recommended for ages 12 to adult

This film is offered to school groups as part of our Talent Lab program.

Awards:
Audience Award Best Narrative Feature Atlanta 2012
Audience Award San Diego 2012, Golden Romy 2012 (Best Producer)
Audience Award L.A. Jewish Film Festival 2012
Audience Award Berkshire 2012
Audience Choice Award Stony Brook NY 2012
1st Prize Sao Paulo Jewish Film Festival 2012
Avner Shalev Yad Vashem Chairman's Award Jerusalem 2011
The Presidency of the Italian Senate Award, ECFA
Award & Percorsi Creativi CGS Award Giffoni 2011
Best Screenplay Buster Copenhagen 2011

Community Partner      

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Marcus O. Rosenmüller was born in 1963 in Duisburg and studied Communications in Munich from 1983-1988. In addition to directing advertisements for companies such as Diners Club, Microsoft and Philip Morris, he has also directed some 120 music videos as well as numerous TV programs and TV program lead-ins. His other films include: Der Tote Taucher Im Wald (1999), Sperling Und Der Stomme Schrei (TV, 2002), Die Mandantin (TV, 2004), Einsatz In Hamburg: Todliches Spiel (TV, 2008), Bis An Die Grenze (TV, 2008), Heisse Spur (TV, 2008), Gottes Machtige Deienerin (TV 2-parter, 2009), Die Minensucherin (TV, 2010), DIE FLUT (TV, 2010), and Wunderkinder (2011).

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