Based on the true events of the Halifax Explosion in 1917, a sailor soars above the blast towards the great unknown.
Supported by
Community Broadcast Partner
Community Partner
Canada
2022
No Dialogue
Violence
Featured in:
VIFF Short Forum: Program 6
Cinematic form is given to life’s big mysteries: luck and fate, love and loss, and the spiritual supernatural.
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Song Sung Blue
Lightning and Thunder (Hugh Jackman and Oscar nominee Kate Hudson), are Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act who experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together. Based on a true story.
Montreal, ma belle
In this Valentine to discovering love later in life, the ever-elegant Joan Chen plays Feng Xia, a 53-year-old Chinese immigrant and mother in Montreal whose world is turned upside down when she meets and falls in love with a young Quebecoise.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, and Special Jury Prize Winner, Sundance, 2025, this exposé shot by a Russian primary teacher shows how the Putin propaganda machine works to militarize children.
Sirât
A desperate father (Sergi Lopez) searchers for his missing daughter through the spiritual wasteland of the Moroccan desert. An unforgettable sensory powerhouse, Sîrat will have you riveted and rattled for hours after the end credits have rolled.
Sun Ra: Do the Impossible
Whether he was a man, a musician, or an emissary from Saturn (as he claimed), Sun Ra was one of the unique visionaries of the 20th century. Christine Turner’s documentary explores the legacy of this iconoclastic who turned his life into a work of art.
The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes
A beautiful portrait of E.J. Hughes, who quietly helped reshape the artistic landscape of British Columbia in the 20th century. This extraordinary documentary explores Hughes’s legacy not only as an artist, but as a devoted, humble human being.
Credits
Executive Producer
David Christensen
Producer
David Christensen
Screenwriter
Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby
ANIM
Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, William J Dyer
Editor
Serge Verreault
Original Music
Luigi Allemano
Directors
Amanda Forbis
Amanda Forbis studied film, video, and animation at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. In 1995, Wendy Tilby invited her to Montreal to co-direct When the Day Breaks (1999). It received numerous honours, including the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes, an Academy Award nomination, and the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. In 2011, they followed up with Wild Life, which was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Wendy Tilby
Wendy Tilby’s first film, Strings (1991), won many international awards, including a Genie Award and first prize at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award. Tilby then joined forces with Amanda Forbis to direct When the Day Breaks (1999). It received numerous honours, including the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes, an Academy Award nomination, and the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival. In 2011, they followed up with Wild Life, which was also nominated for an Academy Award.