Claire Blanchet

Two gay dads fumble to provide their straight son with meaningful support after the loss of his first real love.

When an extraordinary new resident – Balakrishna, an Indian elephant – arrived in the town of East River, Nova Scotia, in 1967, no one was more in awe of the creature than young Winton Cook, who became inseparable from his mammoth new friend. Using painterly animation, photographs and home-movie treasures, Balakrishna transmits the wistfulness of childhood memories, while evoking themes of friendship and loss, and issues of immigration and elephant conservation.

Composed of paint and collage on 16mm film that had originally been tossed in the trash and later recovered to be reshot on an optical printer, Trash and no star! pays tribute to discarded objects. Tempted by extreme experiences and work on the internal sensations, the film was edited to the music of Dreamcatcher.

Racial stereotypes and prejudices deprive a highly qualified candidate of a fair interview – and may prevent an employer from hiring the best person for the job.

Claire Blanchet directs this visually stunning stereoscopic animation, adapted from Heather O’Neills eponymous slice of Montreal noir.