Asthma Tech

Filmmaker Jonathan Ng turns the notion of “otherness” on its head in his animation film, Asthma Tech. In this semi-autobiographical whimsy, young Winston is burdened by the hardships of chronic asthma and isn't able to participate in the everyday activities of his peers and classmates. Winston copes with the predicament through his vivid imagination and with paper and crayons, and on one particularly rainy afternoon his talents and skills save the day. Winston discovers that the magic of imagination has the power to bridge, transform and empower. Asthma Tech is part of the NFB's Talespinners 2. Like the eight films in the first Talespinners collection, this second set of films is for children age 5 to 9. Vibrant animation brings tales from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen. Talespinners 2 includes four original stories and three inspired by books. The Talespinners 2 films are multicultural but aren't about being culturally or racially different…these aren't classic immigrant or “fish out of water” tales. These are culturally diverse stories that will charm and amaze five- to nine-year olds and their families: stories that feature kids as strong central characters; stories told from a kid's point of view. Truly, these are stories that place kids in real world situations, where they must use wits, logic and compassion to resolve dilemmas. The films are post-immigrant, post-acculturation stories told by a new generation of filmmakers who are artists, Canadians and diverse, in that order, for whom diversity is no longer an identifier of otherness but an identifier of profound Canadian-ness.