Skip to main content
The Painting film image; painting of an arm with ribbon around wrist

The Painting

Le Tableau

VIFF Short Forum

Using pinscreen animation, an instance of institutionalized incest in art history is examined through the portrait of Queen Mariana of Austria, who was 14 when she married her uncle.

 

Supported by

    

Community Partner

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2024

Language

In English and French with English subtitles

Film Contact
Content Warning

Incest

18+
11 min
Animation Art, Music & Photography Family Relations Shorts Women Directors
The National Film Board of Canada

Credits & Director

Producer

Christine Noël, Julie Roy

Screenwriter

Michèle Lemieux

ANIM

Michèle Lemieux

Editor

Annie Jean

Original Music

Robert Marcel Lepage

Michèle Lemieux headshot; The Painting director

Michèle Lemieux

Michèle Lemieux is an illustrator and animation filmmaker who has taught at UQAM’s School of Design for over 30 years. Since the late 1970s, she has worked on 15 illustrated books for young people, including Stormy Night (1997) which was adapted to the screen in 2003 at the NFB. In 2006, during a workshop given by Jacques Drouin, Lemieux was introduced to Alexeïeff-Parker’s pinscreen, subsequently becoming the artistic heir to this unique animation technique. She has made two short films using the pinscreen: Here and the Great Elsewhere (2012), which won several awards, and most recently, The Painting (2024).

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

All That's Left of You

Dir. Cherien Dabis
145 min

Jordan's submission for the Academy Awards, All That's Left of You makes the most of its epic format to chronicle seven decades of Palestinian history while tracking the psychological impact of cycles of exile and oppression on three generations.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Spring After Spring

Dir. Jon Chiang
78 min

Three daughters strive to live up to the standards set by their mother Marie Mimi Ho, and keep Vancouver Chinatown's Spring Parade going through thick and thin, in this enormously affectionate local documentary by Jon Chiang.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Song Sung Blue

Dir. Craig Brewer
133 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Dir. David Borenstein & Pavel Talankin
90 min

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.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Cutting Through Rocks

Dir. Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
95 min

Winner of Sundance's World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Cutting Through Rocks follows Sara Shahverdi — motorcyclist, midwife, and first-ever councilwoman elected in her Iranian village. A vérité triumph by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

The Painted Life of E.J. Hughes

Dir. Jenn Strom
82 min

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.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre