Du coq à l'âne

A kindly old man sends his grandson off to see the world. From the window of the train, the child discovers the problems plaguing this planet and imagines solutions to promote the happiness of children everywhere. A synthesis of Volume 1 of the Rights from the Heart/Droits au c÷ur collection, this animated film for five- to eight-year-olds puts the issue of children's rights in an international context.

Children will delight in this introduction to primary colours and their combinations--an animated film in which little elf-like creatures make all the discoveries. They emerge from three circles painted red, yellow and blue. When they venture into a circle of another colour they find that they, too, change colour. Their every movement and posture is designed to convince and amuse.

In this charming animated short, a musician drops his son off at day care and returns home to work. Suddenly, the telephone rings. His son leaves a message on the answering machine, "I love you, Daddy." The father tries to concentrate on his composition, but the telephone rings throughout the day, the messages becoming more poignant. Touched by his child's love, the musician, at last, begins to play a beautiful melody on his clarinet. His imagination soars into the clouds and beyond, eventually gliding down to Earth on the beam of a spotlight, where he performs before a full audience. Every seat is occupied by his son, who sings along, "La, la, la, la..."

A little deaf girl who plays against an arrogant boy in a chess tournament is unaffected by his scorn but responds warmly to the attentions of a young poet. Based on article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates disabled children's right to enjoy a full and decent life. A film without words.

Animated short film made in pixilation. The film tells the amusing story of an attempt at seduction that is certainly out of the ordinary.

A satirical, updated take on the classic Jean de La Fontaine fable.

A giant statue of the letter "E" arrives in the park. One man sees it as "B"; they are preparing to cart him off to the looney bin when a doctor arrives and determines the man needs glasses. Then the king arrives...

Some of life's most profound questions are tackled by ten children ranging in age from six to eleven. They give their spontaneous views on God, the beginning of life, what happens to the spirit when one dies, where one's soul goes at night, and numerous other questions about life. The magic of animation and modern camera techniques illustrate the children's imaginative ruminations and conclusions.

A shocking film about antipersonnel land mines and a barbarous complacency. Every year hundreds of men, women and children are wounded or killed by antipersonnel land mines. My Child, My Land denounces the use of this hideous weapon. It particularly denounces the complicity of the industrialized nations. If such a horror exists, it is because someone has invented it, and someone else has manufactured it. Can we imagine such barbarity behind the faces of our neighbour? our father? ourselves? This hard-hitting animation film demands that we ask ourselves these questions.

Blocks and balls fight simply because they are different, until their battle reduces everyone to the same shape.

This short documentary revisits the 1976 Olympic Marathon. A modern-day addition to the Games, the marathon commemorates the soldier who ran cross-country, in 490 B.C., to announce the Greek victory at Marathon and then died. Here, great film footage of the 1976 Summer Olympics captures the physical demands of the race, while its emotional counterpart is related by Waldemar Cierpinski, the event’s 1976 gold medalist. This emotion-charged film proves that although the winner of the Decathlon is the best all-round athlete, the “toughest” is the winner of the Marathon