Flawed

Filmmaker Andrea Dorfman has a way with words. In Big Mouth, she explores the experiences of a bright-minded, quick-witted child, questioning what it means to speak the truth, and coming to understand how our differences make us unique. Dorfman's whimsical storytelling is all heart. Hand-drawn puppets dance, skip and cartwheel across the screen as one little girl discovers the complexity of words and that what we say may not be what we mean. Trudy, equal parts truthful and rude, has an unfiltered and deeply curious way of looking at the world. She honestly points out what she sees-be it a big mole or a big belly! The result is an impressive accumulation of disciplinary notes from her teacher. Like Trudy, eventually we all learn how to read, make friends and develop a healthy relationship with the truth. A film for anyone, young or old, who has gotten in trouble for saying too much, Big Mouth is an animated short about one of life's big lessons.

Is there a more mysterious landscape than girlhood? This smart documentary dares to explore that increasingly intimidating terrain, following three 12 year-olds on their bumpy journeys into their futures. Over the course of a year, filmmaker Victoria King is a welcome but discreet presence in the lives of Avi, Jazmine, and Jane. As we see, the girls are as different from each other as sugar and spice, but all are living through that uncertain slide from childhood to maturity. Peer pressure is an important influence on the formation of identity but, as the film shows, the greatest influence in a young girl's life is family. Today, family often means that dad is remote or completely absent. That leaves mom in control, almost single-handedly shaping the character and determining the future of her young charge. What comes of such responsibility? Avi spends a lot of time in her room studying, or trying to. She is expected to achieve nothing less than academic perfection - an admirable but impossible goal. In some ways Avi is more comfortable with the camera and her anonymous audience than with a mother who wants to know everything. The nature of Jazmine's pressure is more subtle. Mom is devoted to her happiness, but must struggle with the needs of her other children, trying to make ends meet, and the hardships that come from doing it all alone. Jane's 12-year-old life is equally involved. Mom is an artist who seeks to balance her bohemian ethics with more structured rules - not always an obvious path to follow. Like the other girls, Jane has to find her own way among many different signposts. The filmmaker, herself a mother of a young daughter, treats her subjects with sensitivity and respect. Her creative approach, including "diary-cam" footage, not only follows the girls, but allows them to question their worlds in their own voices. Ultimately, the film reveals the complexity of being 12,both satisfying our curiosity and inviting us to ask: What happens next?

Waseteg is the story of a young Mi'kmaq girl whose name means "the light from the dawn." Sadly, her mother dies while giving birth and, though her father works very hard to provide for his family, Waseteg is surrounded by the bitterness and loneliness felt by her sisters. As a young girl, Waseteg looks for solace in nature, and dreams of the stories she's heard in the village - including one about Walqwan, the mysterious boy living across the river. Eventually, with the gentle care of the boy's grandmother, Waseteg succeeds in finding Walqwan, discovering the Spirit Path, and restoring love to her family. A short story about dreams, courage, identity, creation and embracing our Elders, Waseteg showcases Phyllis Grant's signature style of bold lines, bright colours and simple movements. The film is beautifully narrated by legendary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin.