If I Was God...

How big is the world? Searching for an answer, a young boy waves goodbye to his classmates, hops the schoolyard fence and disappears into the city, swallowed by the din and decadence of its machines and masses and automobiles. Back at school, amidst a crowd of confused onlookers, the runaway's best friend, a young artist, smiles and waves goodbye with equal parts understanding and expectation: she is biding her time, preparing for her own adventure to begin. In Flutter, award-winning artist and illustrator Howie Shia marries traditional and digital media with a mish-mash score of jazz, electronics and sampling to create an urban fairy tale that sets to reclaim the contemporary world as fertile ground for epic adventure and romance. This is not a story about humble beginnings, but about two school kids with ambition and love so potent that they reinvent the landscape as endless canvases; infinite mazes. A film without words.

Maq and the Spirit of the Woods is the story of Maq, a Mi'kmaq boy who realizes his potential with the help of inconspicuous mentors. When an elder in the community offers him a small piece of pipestone, Maq carves a little person out of it. Proud of his work, the boy wants to impress his grandfather and journeys through the woods to find him. Along the path Maq meets a curious traveller named Mi'gmwesu. Together they share stories, medicine, laughter and song. Maq begins to care less about making a good impression and more about sharing the knowledge and spirit he's found through his creation. It is only when Maq joins his grandfather that he understands who Mi'gmwesu really is. Maq and the Spirit of the Woods is adapted from stories told to artist Phyllis Grant when she was a child. Her father, Mi'kmaq folklorist Gilbert Sewell, reprises his role as storyteller in this animated tale about Creation and discovering resources within to help build self-confidence and strength. Bold colour, graphic art and simple movements in the film illustrate his story, offering a bridge between ancient oral tradition and contemporary methods of telling a tale through animation.

Que feriez-vous si vous découvriez soudain, à l'âge de 12 ans, que vous possédez des pouvoirs comparables à ceux de Dieu? Vous serviraient-ils à faire du bien? Du mal? Un peu des deux? Pour un garçon de septième année dont l'esprit s'évade alors qu'il dissèque une grenouille durant le cours de biologie, les possibilités semblent infinies : disposer du pouvoir de vie et de mort, créer des monstres capables de punir ceux qui le torturent quotidiennement (surtout Augie, assis dans la dernière rangée), mais mieux encore, matérialiser cette journée parfaite avec Lily, l'amour de sa jeune vie. Réalisée par l'animateur sélectionné à deux reprises aux Oscars et collaborateur de longue date de l'ONF Cordell Barker (Le chat colla..., Tombé du ciel), la fantaisiste et grinçante animation Si j'étais le bon Dieu... explore le difficile passage de l'enfance à l'adolescence, ce moment où les pouvoirs de l'âge adulte se rapprochent et sont souvent confondus avec la toute-puissance. S'inspirant de souvenirs d'une journée de septième année particulièrement difficile, Cordell Barker utilise diverses techniques allant de l'animation traditionnelle aux marionnettes animées image par image pour créer un court métrage en 3D d'allure artisanale, aussi imparfaitement humain que l'univers que chacun de nous se façonne.