50 in 50: OIAF’s Favourite
Canadian Animation Shorts
We’ve done Grand Prize films, trailers, and poster exhibitions, but this time we thought we’d turn the spotlight on ourselves, at least a little. So we’ve looked back at all the Canadian animated films screened at the OIAF since 1976 and chose, not necessarily the best (what the hell does that even mean? Who could possibly decide that?), but the ones that stayed with us the most — the ones we can watch again and again and still feel inspired by, still feel shaken by. Our programming team went through more than 700 films and narrowed the list down to our Top 50.
During the OIAF, we’ll unveil our Top 10 picks from the last 50 years and include mini-essays on each one. You’ll find old favourites, forgotten gems and, in true OIAF fashion, a few head-scratchers and oddities.
Here are (in alphabetical order) all 50 films:
Abandon Bob Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here | Kevin D.A. Kurytnik | 1996
SEE the hand of Cartoon Fate! TRY to figure out why Bob Hope’s skull is in this film! Dante and Doré meet Disney in Hell!
Afterlife | Ishu Patel | 1978
A visionary image of life after death based on medical studies and ancient myths.
Âme Noire (Black Soul) | Martine Chartrand | 2000
A young boy traces his roots through the stories his grandmother shares with him about the events that shaped their cultural heritage.
At the Quinte Hotel | Bruce Alcock | 2005
A man waxes poetic about beer and flowers in a small-town basement tavern. Based on Al Purdy’s poem and narrated by Gord Downey.
Beau comme ailleurs (Beautiful Like Elsewhere) | Elise Simard | 2017
In a quiet old folks’ home a few residents enjoy a late night film and a nurse smokes a cigarette.
Begone Dull Care | Paul Johnson | 2015
Norman McLaren would have been the first to use his feet to applaud this playful and utterly inventive re-make of his classic 1949 film.
Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) | Amanda Strong | 2018
Biidaaban, a young Anishinaabe non-binary person who can see through multiple dimensions, sets out to harvest sap from Sugar Maples in urban Ontario neighbourhoods.
Bless You | David Barlow-Krelina | 2013
A man takes the subway. Inside his brain, a countdown clock hits zero and a little person prepares for lift-off. The man sneezes.
Bob’s Birthday | David Fine & Alison Snowden | 1993
When Margaret plans a celebration for her husband Bob, she underestimates the sudden impact of middle age on his mood.
Bout | Malcolm Sutherland | 2012
BOUT – definition –
- A short period of intense activity
- An attack of illness or strong emotion
- A wrestling or boxing match
Cattle Call | Matthew Rankin & Mike Maryniuk | 2008
A high-speed animated documentary about the art of livestock auctioneering.
Crac! | Frédéric Back | 1980
A century of Québec’s history, as witnessed by a rocking chair.
Du Big-Bang au mardi matin (From the Big-Bang to Tuesday Morning) | Claude Cloutier | 2000
A brief history of life on Earth.
Erodium Thunk | Winston Hacking | 2018
A barrage of hyperlinked cable television commercials.
Every Dog’s Guide to Complete Home Safety | Les Drew | 1986
Wally the Safety Dog tries to save his well-meaning owners from themselves.
Finding Uranus | Ivan Li | 2019
If Kubrick returned from the dead and was going to make an animation film about self-pleasure… well… this might be it.
Flux | Christopher Hinton | 2002
In a house on a hill under a looming storm cloud, family life unfolds at breakneck pace.
Git Gob | Philip Eddolls | 2009
Two beings discover another universal perspective through deep, meaningful dialogue. This life-changing realization spawns from a simple but perplexing hole in the ground.
In the Shadow of the Pines | Anne Koizumi | 2020
A deeply personal story about a difficult father-daughter relationship inspired by the filmmaker’s own upbringing with her immigrant dad, who was also the janitor at the elementary school she attended.
Le Chandail (The Sweater) | Sheldon Cohen | 1980
A young boy needs a new hockey sweater, except the Eaton’s catalogue sends the wrong replacement: a blue and white Toronto Maple Leafs jersey. Suffering ensues.
Le Chapeau (The Hat) | Michèle Cournoyer | 1999
A young woman works as an exotic dancer, when a customer’s hat reminds her of a dark incident from her childhood.
Le paysagiste (Mindscape) | Jacques Drouin | 1976
An artist steps inside his own painting and wanders through a landscape full of symbols that trigger unexpected associations.
Linear Dreams | Richard Reeves | 1997
Images from the mind’s eye, music from the mind’s ear.
Lipsett Diaries | Theodore Ushev | 2010
Depicts the maelstrom of anguish that tormented Arthur Lipsett, a famed Canadian experimental filmmaker who died at the age of 49.
Living the Dream | Ben Meinhardt | 2023
An indefatigable citizen pursues his ambitions and dreams in the face of modern society.
Log Driver’s Waltz | John Weldon | 1979
A young girl who loves to dance and is ready to marry chooses a log driver over his more well-to-do, land-loving competition.
Madame Tutli-Putli | Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski | 2007
Adrift between real and imagined worlds, Madam Tutli-Putli is drawn into an undertow of mystery and suspense.
Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics | Terril Calder | 2021
Convinced she’s soiled and destined for Hell, a precocious Metis Baby Girl receives teachings that fill her with strength and pride, and affirm a path towards healing.
Mouseholes | Helen Hill | 1999
Helen remembers her beloved grandfather.
My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes | Charlie Tyrell | 2018
A man seeks to better understand his emotionally distant late-father through the personal belongings he left behind… including a stack of dirty movies on VHS.
My Favourite Things That I Love | Janet Perlman | 1994
A visual and musical celebration of beautiful, sweet, sad, noble, adorable, glamourous and abominable things.
Mynarski Death Plummet | Matthew Rankin | 2014
A completely hand-made historical micro-epic of the final minutes in the life of Winnipeg’s doomed WWII hero, Andrew Mynarski.
Pink Komkommer | Marv Newland | 1991
As she dozes off in a rocking chair, a woman has a series of surreal erotic dreams, each rendered in a different artistic style.
Rivière au tonnerre (Thunder River) | Pierre Hébert | 2011
An intense exercise of looking at a rockface shot near the waterfalls of Rivière au tonnerre, on the North Shore of the St-Lawrence river. A meditation about opacity, about the fissures that can open up anything, any situation on the infinity of meaning.
Ryan | Chris Landreth | 2004
Based on the life of animator Ryan Larkin: Ryan lives on welfare and panhandles for spare change in downtown Montréal. How could such an artistic genius follow this path?
Sonámbulo (The Sleepwalker) | Theodore Ushev | 2015
A surrealist journey through colors and shapes inspired by Federico García Lorca’s poem “Romance Sonámbulo”.
Squame | Nicolas Brault | 2015
A stunning and utterly innovative exploration of the human body using sugar.
Strings | Wendy Tilby | 1991
This animated film paints a vivid portrait of two strangers intimately linked by the shared ceilings, floors and plumbing of their apartments. When an unexpected problem arises, these comfortable connections are compromised. Wendy Tilby uses a painstaking animation process involving painting on glass and stop-action filming. Strings is a film as beautiful as it is haunting.
The Big Snit | Richard Condie | 1983
A couple have a fight over a scrabble game unaware that a full scale nuclear war has started.
The Cat Came Back | Cordell Baker | 1988
Old Mr. Johnson makes increasingly manic attempts to rid himself of a little yellow cat that just won’t stay away…
The Curse of the Voodoo Child | Steven Woloshen | 2005
The cycle of sex, fire, and relationships – but not in that order.
The End of the World in Four Seasons | Paul Driessen | 1995
A witty black comedy with multiple storylines and eight separate animated windows on-screen at all times.
The Mixy Tapes | David Seitz & Michael Wray | 2008
Musician MIXYLODIAN (Mike Wray) and filmmaker David Seitz team up to tell the story of their collaborative effort to produce a film. As the duo navigates an imagined world of visual metaphors in search of the perfect idea, realities of production and problems of communication render the film increasingly problematic.
The Street | Caroline Leaf | 1976
A Jewish family living in Montreal take care of their sick grandmother. The youngest boy in the family looks forward to taking over his grandmother’s room.
Two Sisters | Caroline Leaf | 1991
On a far-away island, a young woman writes novels while her sister looks after their daily needs. When a stranger arrives, the harmony of their shared solitude is disturbed.
Two Weeks – Two Minutes | Judith Poirier | 2013
An exploration of the double page format and the notion of time in both media.
Un trou dans la poitrine (A Crab in the Pool) | Alexandra Myotte & Jean-Sébastien Hamel | 2023
In a run-down neighborhood, Zoe and her little brother Theo are left to fend for themselves.
What the Walls Feel as they Stare at Rob Ford Sitting in his Office | Guillaume Pelletier-Auger | 2021
The muted despair and confusion of Rob Ford or something like that.
When the Day Breaks | Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis | 1999
After witnessing the accidental death of a stranger, Ruby seeks affirmation in the city around her… and finds it in surprising places.
Why Me? | Derek Lamb & Janet Perlman | 1978
When Mr. Spoon learns that he has only a limited time left to live, he runs through the gamut of emotions commonly experienced by people in this devastating situation.