Michael Fukushima

Layering real-life details with an otherworldly magic, Thanadoula recounts the story of an end-of-life doula brought to her calling through the loss of her beloved sister.

A young Canadian poet with Chinese and Persian parents travels to Iran to perform at a poetry festival.

In this short animation, a young boy takes a flying leap away from normal, waves goodbye to his classmates, and disappears into the cityscape and beyond. At the same time, a young girl is inspired to reinvent her space with art.

A little creature watches the transformation of a feather and follows a whale to where icebergs melt, leaving birds with nowhere to land. The materials used include old gloves, costume jewellery and Plasticine. Technique: puppet and object animation with drawn animation. This film was made as part of the third edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

A polar bear must try his luck finding a job in the big city when the last of his Arctic ice environment disappears. It’s hard fitting into the human world, however, so this bear finds a more creative solution to his predicament. This film was made as part of the 8th edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Roots is a one-of-kind produce's-eye journey through a supermarket-and through the highly sensitive issue of adoption disclosure. As a series of fruit and vegetables each drop into a shopping cart, they quickly get caught up in a conversation about origins.

Look out: Beryl's back. With Affairs of the Art, British animator Joanna Quinn recounts another gloriously unhinged chapter in the adventures of Beryl, the comic everywoman she unleashed upon the world with her debut film, Girls' Night Out, which took home three major awards from Annecy in 1987.

Based on the shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, this is a testament to the need to reclaim the ideas of animism for planetary health and non-human materialities.

An unapologetic confrontation of cultural appropriation and everything that’s wrong with hipsters in headdresses. The takeaway? Just don't do it.

Two little men float into the deep blue sky, tied to balloons. But then each decides the sky belongs to him. This film was made as part of the fourth edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

Centered on a confrontation between the last monster bear and an Inuit hunter, Giant Bear is a chilling short that brings an ancient story out of the North.

Director Theodore Ushev uses his own blood to animate struggles with injustice in the world.

A woman must find paperclips for a report to be presented in the morning.

Three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in Nairobi. What could possibly go wrong?

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.

A modern adaptation of the myth of Hercules, BAM tells the story of a young boxer struggling to negotiate between his shy, bookish nature and a divinely violent temper. Where does this rage come from? Is it psychological or environmental - or is it something altogether more primordial?

Thea Pratt explores the exhilarating moment of a poetic dive. The movement of the puppet diver is influenced by Norman McLaren, Leni Riefenstahl and Busby Berkeley. Dancing light, frothing oceans, rolling rivers and calm lakes describe in photographic images the diver’s own stream of consciousness. This film was made as part of the second edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

An unapologetic take on the vicious cycle of earning too little and consuming too much.

Canada 3-D is a 60 second video, 3-D whirlwind tour of what it means to be Canadian, through the lens of director and animator, George Geertsen. Apparently it means a lot--everything from early explorers to one room schoolhouses, the Depression, the World Wars, the Baby Boom, EXPO 67, sports highlights and the one experience that every single Canadian shares: winter! A film without words.

Shannon Amen unearths the passionate and pained expressions of a young woman overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety as she struggles to reconcile her sexual identity with her religious faith. A loving elegy to a friend lost to suicide.

This experimental animation film examines society's deification of architecture and urbanization in the modern world and the impact on our relationship to nature. This film was made with the NFB Hothouse program for emerging filmmakers.

Following the end of a stormy love affair, Expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka enlists in the First World War. After suffering serious injuries in battle, he experiences a series of memories and visions as medics transport him through the forests of the Russian front. Playful and imaginative, I'm OK explores the wounds of heartbreak and trauma. Inspired by the life and art of Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980).

In this short animation Damien Hess attempts to connect with the tragedy of the First World War, a conflict that helped define Canada. In this film he uses imagery of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial monument in northern France to summon up names, faces and shadows that are fading from our memory. This film was made as part of the third edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.

A robot rambles about frenetically, receiving countless electronic messages through his antenna every second. Despite his fatigue and stress, he never slows down. The only thing that might bring his frantic journey to an end is a traffic accident. This film was made as part of the third edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship.