NFB offers 7 distinctive features, shorts and animated docs at world's most prestigious documentary festival
Toronto (November 15, 2007) - Canada swarms Amsterdam with seven National Film Board of Canada (NFB) films and co-productions at the world-renowned 20th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), November 22-December 2. The NFB offers up the world premiere of Patrick Reed's Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma (White Pine Pictures/NFB), along with two films in competition: Yung Chang's award-winning Up the Yangtze (EyeSteelFilm/NFB) and Baghdad Twist by Joe Balass. Also on the slate are special presentations of the Oscar® winner Ryan (Copperheart/NFB) and Oscar® nominee Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square, both in the Animation Documentary Programme. Milosevic on Trial (Team Productions/NFB) by Michael Christoffersen is also part of the festival. Finally, IDFA will screen Paperland: The Bureaucrat Observed by legendary NFB filmmaker Donald Brittain as part of Iranian filmmaker Maziar Bahari's Top 10 documentary picks.
"The outstanding selection of National Film Board of Canada world premieres and classics at this year's festival is a testament to the talent, passion and ideals of NFB documentary filmmakers," said Tom Perlmutter, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada. "As Canada's public filmmaker and a world leader in the production and distribution of groundbreaking point-of-view documentaries, we're committed to working in partnership with co-producers from around the world to create innovative, relevant documentary cinema for the digital age."
Slated for its world premiere at IDFA, Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma traces the ultimate humanitarian nightmare. Racing against time with limited resources, relief workers make split-second decisions: who gets treatment, who gets food, who lives, who dies. Director Patrick Reed follows Dr. James Orbinski, recipient of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize as President of Médecins Sans Frontières, and field doctor during the Somali famine and the Rwandan genocide, as he embarks on his most difficult mission to date-writing a deeply personal and controversial book that struggles to make sense of it all. By the creative team of the celebrated documentary Shake Hands with The Devil: The Journey of Roméo Dallaire, the film is produced by Peter Raymont (White Pine Pictures), in co-production with Silva Basmajian (NFB). Part of Reflecting Images: Panorama Program, the film screens on November 24, 6:30 pm, Munt 11. Ariel Dorfman, producer Peter Raymont and Dr. James Orbinski will participate in a panel discussion following the screening. Eligible for the IDFA Audience Award.
Yung Chang's first feature documentary, Up the Yangtze, winner of the Best Canadian Documentary Award at the 26th annual Vancouver International Film Festival (2007), screens in competition, eligible for the Joris Ivens Award and the IDFA Audience Award. The Three Gorges Dam-contested symbol of the Chinese economic miracle-provides the epic backdrop for Up the Yangtze, a feature documentary on life inside the 21st century Chinese dream. Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Chang crafts a moving depiction of peasant life, a powerful narrative of contemporary China and a disquieting glimpse into the future. www.nfb.ca/uptheyangtze. Written and directed by Chang. Producers: Mila Aung-Thwin, John Christou (EyeSteelFilm) and Germaine Ying Gee Wong (NFB). Screens November 23, 10 pm, Tuschinski 2.
It could be anywhere: a mid-1960s' wedding reception captured on Super-8 film. A band plays and people fill the dance floor to do the latest craze: the twist. But this is Baghdad, and for the city's Jewish community, it is an evening of joy during a prolonged period of persecution. Baghdad Twist is a visual memoir by filmmaker Joe Balass of one family's life in Iraq before escaping to a new home in Canada in 1970. In competition, eligible for the Silver Cub Award and IDFA Audience Award. Produced by Germaine Ying Gee Wong (NFB). Screens November 24, 10 pm, Munt 10.
Filmmaker Michael Christoffersen looks behind the scenes at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic in Milosevic On Trial. Produced by Mette Heidi (Team Productions) in co-production with Christian Medawar (NFB). Part of Reflecting Images: Panorama Program, the film screens November 24 at 9 pm, Tuschinski 3. Eligible for the IDFA Audience Award.
Oscar®-winning Ryan (Copperheart/NFB) looks at the life and career of Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, an Oscar® nominee himself, who made some of the most influential animated films of his time when he worked for the National Film Board. Thirty years later, Ryan was panhandling on the streets of Montreal to make ends meet. By combining hand-animated images with the latest technology, filmmaker and animator Chris Landreth pushes the boundaries of photo realism and the animation and documentary genres. Part of Animation Documentary Programme, the film screens November 25, 8 pm, Tuschinski 6.
For most Westerners, Tiananmen Square is synonymous with the bloody massacre the Chinese government ordered in 1989 to quell students' pro-democracy demonstrations. For filmmaker Shuibo Wang and others of his generation, Tiananmen Square was the central symbol of the new China--a society to be based on equality and cooperation. Academy Award®-nominated Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square is an autobiographical, animated documentary that artfully traces Wang's roots and his own life journey as an artist who grew up in China during the historic upheavals of the '60s, '70s and '80s. Part of Animation Documentary Programme. Screens on November 28, 3 pm,Tuschinski 6.
Selected by Maziar Bahari as one of his Top 10 favourite films, the NFB classic Paperland: The Bureaucrat Observed (1979) by documentary legend Donald Brittain is a humorous and irreverent exposé of the absurdities of bureaucratic behaviour. While bureaucracy shapes our lives and guides us from the cradle to the grave, the film lays bare its idiosyncrasies, whether in Canada or abroad. Written, directed and produced by Brittain (NFB) in co-production with the CBC. Screens November 27, 12:15 pm, Tuschinski 6.
About the NFB
The National Film Board of Canada produces and distributes bold and distinctive social issue documentaries, auteur animation and digital content that provide the world with a unique Canadian perspective. Since its founding in 1939, the NFB has created over 13,000 productions and won over 5000 awards, including more than 90 Genies. The NFB also received its 12th Academy Award® this year for the animated short The Danish Poet, directed by Torill Kove and co-produced by Norway's Mikrofilm AS and the NFB. The NFB is renowned for its technical innovations and is a leader in content for new platforms. For more information about the NFB or to order films, go to or call 1-800-267-7710.
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For more information, please contact:
Patricia Garcia, NFB Publicist, Tel: 416.954.1384, E-mail: p.garcia@nfb.ca
Claire Strunck, NFB Publicist, Tel: 514.496.4486, E-mail : c.strunck@nfb.ca
National Film Board of Canada Production
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