Poets on Film No. 1

Based on Sean O'Huigan's poem Acid Rain, this animated film painted in soft pastels unveils the magical thinking of a carefree little girl. Viewers will delight in the gross comic detail of her fantastic imaginings. While far from a factual treatment of acid rain, the film can inspire activities in art, children's literature studies and film classes while serving as a whimsical introduction to a serious problem.

This gentle tribute, in animated form, celebrates the courage and enduring faith of a mother. The filmmaker resolves her feelings of impatience towards an aged mother while recalling their shared wartime experiences in a concentration camp. Through shimmering sepia images and an evocative musical score, the film shows that the gift of life can be reciprocated as the aging parent becomes the child.

The drawings and recollections of Inuit artist Pitseolak, from the book of the same title written by Dorothy Eber. Now in her seventies, Pitseolak is one of the most famous of the graphic artists of the Cape Dorset (Baffin Island) artists' colony and co-operative. Her coloured pencil and felt-pen drawings vividly illustrate her memories of past life in the Arctic, and of the birds, animals and spirits that figured so large in the daily life of the Inuit.