The Sound Collector

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.

A playful and poignant animated short about a boy with an over-active imagination, The Boy Who Saw the Iceberg presents two worlds -reality and fantasy. Paul Driessen's multi-layered split-screen approach revels in the shifting boundaries between these two realms. In this cautionary tale, the young protagonist, bored with his lot, imagines a diabolic and dangerous life of adventure. But when our would-be hero, accustomed to eluding mobsters and monsters in his daydreams, finally finds himself facing a real-life drama, he can't believe his eyes. It's even harder for him to convince anyone else of what he's seen - an iceberg! Suddenly, the mundane life that he always wanted to escape, is what he wishes to recapture. Film without words.

Bestselling author Roch Carrier narrates a mortifying boyhood experience in this animated adaptation of his beloved story, "The Hockey Sweater." In the 1940s, in the rural village of Saint Justine, Quebec, listening to the hockey game on the radio was a Saturday night tradition... and so was rooting for the Montreal Canadiens. All the boys worshipped the star player, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, and proudly wore the number 9 emblazoned on their sweaters. The boy in the story outgrows his hockey sweater, so his mother writes to "Mr. Eaton" for a new one. But instead of the coveted red, white and blue of Les Canadiens, the company sends a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey! Imagine the young player's chagrin when he shows up at the neighbourhood rink in the blue and white colours of the arch-enemy! The Sweater has universal appeal for children and adults alike.