Stories Sarah Tells

Liyana(en)

A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.

Recuerdos del corazón(es)

On the anniversary of their mother's death, brothers Enzo and Franco find a box with many old photographs. As one of the brothers is blind, the other will tell him what is in the photographs.

Sita Sings the Blues(en)

Utilizing the 1920s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, the epic Indian tale of exiled prince Ramayana and his bride Sita is mirrored by a spurned woman's contemporary personal life, and light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets.

Crocodile Dance(en)

When an ancient water goddess threatens her town, Roukia, a silenced musician must reclaim her voice to break a generational curse and save herself and her family.

Speed(en)

SPEED is the result of an artificial intelligence transforming bin footage into something beautiful in order to free the planet from pixel pollution. By video recycling trash shots into video art using the latest algorithm technology, visual art may help to understand our limited resources on earth and how to use them in a respectful manner. Every day we produce millions of clips sharing them on social media without even noticing anymore how much pixel garbage we create. At the same time, we produce every day millions of tons of plastic waste, polluting our environment without even noticing it anymore. SPEED wants to be a symbol of change as we are running out of time.

1976: Search for Life(en)

A new father takes his wife and daughter on a journey to his mother’s birthplace in Scotland. It is 1976 – the year in which NASA’s Viking 1 and 2 space probes land on the surface of Mars. They send images of an only vaguely explored area from a great distance, enabling a first look into the history of an alien planet. Like the NASA scientists, the small family are hoping that their journey will give them insights into the past, an understanding of the present situation and perhaps even the chance to anticipate the future.

Tiddler(en)

A small fish with a big imagination gets lost in the deep wide ocean, until he is saved by his own storytelling.

Kubo and the Two Strings(en)

Kubo mesmerizes the people in his village with his magical gift for spinning wild tales with origami. When he accidentally summons an evil spirit seeking vengeance, Kubo is forced to go on a quest to solve the mystery of his fallen samurai father and his mystical weaponry, as well as discover his own magical powers.

What it’s made of(xx)

What it’s made of was produced for the Dutch customs laboratory (douane lab) in Sloterdijk over a period of 4 months. In this dual-channel film installation the viewer can watch the Dutch Customs Laboratory take shape in front of their eyes. Observing this process of the laboratory and its machines slowly being formed, attention is drawn to the shapes and forms that make up the laboratory and its machines.

Melbhattan(en)

Melbhattan. Melbhattan is part homage, part pastiche of the opening sequence of Woody Allen's seminal 1979 film Manhattan. Melbhattan features more than sixty black and white tableaux of Melbourne each composed to mimic images in Allen's film.

HARLEM FRAGMENTS(en)

Harlem Fragments is an Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession. A natural disaster so mesmerizing you can't look away from the tragedy. Based on true events- The film explores the haunting societal pressures of achieving the Black American dream, told in the POV of 10 year old TJ revisiting his family's home that's up for sale. By empowering this Black boy in this film with the agency to imagine, TJ, through his own journey, finds a way to process and come to terms with his family's divorce. It's important for every Black child out there enduring the same foreign emotions to know that it's okay to feel them, and affirm that there is a future trajectory forward out of the initial destruction.

Music to My Ears(en)

Vinyl Scratch, or DJ-Pon3, puts on her headphones and listens to her favorite music as she stops by Sugarcube Corner Cafe on her way to school, while everything around her seems to react in time to her music.

君の十字架(ja)

Cycles(en)

The short follows the lives of a family consisting of Bert, Rae, and their daughter Rachel. The viewer serves as an observer of the family's lifecycle before, during, and after living in their home. It is Walt Disney Animation Studios' first short set in virtual reality.

It's The Same Story(hi)

Two storytellers put forth their versions of the story of Shravan Kumar. The art for the film uses painted images from a wooden portable shrine called a Kaavad. The film is a collaborative work between traditional Kaavad storytellers and Kaavad artists from Rajasthan, together with the filmmaker. Combining lush animation with live-action, the film is an interpretation of two stories which are forever fused in the act of telling and retelling.

Nuno(pt)

A young man Nuno, tries to understand how his fate is tied to that of his deceased uncle Nuno, whom he never met.

The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam(en)

Long Tack Sam was an internationally renowned Chinese acrobat and magician. He overcame isolation, poverty, cultural and linguistic barriers, extreme racism and world wars to become one of the most successful vaudeville acts of his time. His showmanship was unrivalled, yet he refused to appear in movies because of the way Chinese were portrayed at the time. A celebration of the spirit of Long Tack Sam's magic and art, this richly textured first person road movie is an exhilarating testament to his legacy and a prismatic tour through the 20th Century. It all begins in a small village in China... https://www.nfb.ca/film/the_magical_life_of_long_tack_sam/

Dimensions(xx)

A mathematical play on one repeated movement. It imparts a sense of possibilities: that something simple can produce complex and unexpected patterns. As with an atom, the variety of possibilities from a base movement is potentially infinite.

1194D(en)

1194D is originally a tweak of 115C8, one of the “Algorithmic Creature” series based on recursive triangle subdivision. The idea and complexity of the work started to go beyond the initial expectation after it was decided to experiment with multiple “creatures” co-existing within the environment.

Crac!(fr)

A wooden rocking chair serves as a tool to delve through the history of Quebec in the last century.

Once Upon a Studio(en)

Created for Disney's 100th anniversary, the short features Mickey Mouse corralling a gallery of legendary Disney characters for a group photo.

SpongeBob SquarePants Presents The Tidal Zone(en)

GrandPat travels through alternate dimensions and timelines to get home.

Mr. Incredible and Pals(en)

An animated short film produced by Pixar included as a bonus on the DVD edition of the 2004 feature film "The Incredibles."

The Little Matchgirl(en)

An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.

Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1(en)

Experience these masterpieces of storytelling from the creative minds that brought you Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and many more. With revolutionary animation, unforgettable music and characters you love, these dazzling short films have changed the face of animation and entertainment and are sure to delight people of all ages for years to come.

Magnum Opus(en)

Groot sets out to paint a family portrait of himself and the Guardians, only to discover just how messy the artistic process can be.

Where Is Anne Frank(en)

The film follows the journey of Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne Frank dedicated her diary. A fiery teenager, Kitty wakes up in the near future in Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam and embarks on a journey to find Anne, who she believes is still alive, in today's Europe. While the young girl is shocked by the modern world, she also comes across Anne's legacy.

Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet(en)

Exiled artist and poet Mustafa embarks on a journey home with his housekeeper and her daughter; together the trio must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in Mustafa's words will incite rebellion.

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day(en)

Winnie the Pooh and his friends experience high winds, heavy rains, and a flood in Hundred Acre Wood.

The Night Before Christmas(en)

A narrator sings the opening stanzas of the classic poem while we see the house at rest. Santa lands on the roof, comes down the chimney, and opens his bag. The toys march out and decorate the tree, with the toy soldiers shooting balls from their cannon, a toy airplane stringing a garland like skywriting, and the toy firemen applying snow. A blimp delivers the star to the top. Meanwhile, Santa fills the stockings. His laughter awakens the children, who sneak out. The toys rush to their places, and Santa escapes up the chimney just in time.

Monster High: Friday Night Frights(en)

After Monster High’s roller skating team is defeated at the Skulltimate Roller Maze tournament, the ghouls team up to face an all-boys league, with the hope of winning back the school crest and restoring school spirit.

Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales(en)

If Bugs Bunny were to direct his signature inquiry--"What's up, doc?"--toward the modern-day Warner Bros. creative team, he wouldn't be far off. For 1001 Rabbit Tales, they've doctored up a batch of classic cartoons featuring the carrot muncher and his bumbling comrades and bundled them, near seamlessly, into a feature-length film. Here's the premise: Bugs and Daffy, both book salesmen, are competing to sell the most copies of a kids' book. Instead of burrowing a beeline to his sales territory (he should have made a left at Albuquerque), Bugs ends up in the castle of Yosemite Sam, here a harem-leading honcho. Sam's pain-in-the-spurs son, Prince Abalaba, needs somebody to read him stories; Bugs, who'd sooner take the job than suffer the alternative, that involving being boiled in oil, signs on.

Sanjay's Super Team(en)

SANJAY'S SUPER TEAM follows the daydream of a young Indian boy, bored with his father's religious meditation, who imagines "a kind of ancient, Hindu version of The Avengers," with the gods appearing like superheros.

Matriculated(en)

The human resistance works to convert a sentinel to their side. Part of the Animatrix collection of animated shorts set in the Matrix universe.

Competition(en)

Two minions working in a bomb lab get competitive.

PAW Patrol: Jet to the Rescue(en)

A royal relative steals a gem with the power to make things fly, the Paw Patrol takes to the skies to stop him and save Barkingburg.

Minions & More 2(en)

This collection of 11 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Mower Minions (2016); Yellow Is the New Black (2018); Competition (2015); Cro Minion (2015); Binky Nelson Unpacified (2015); Panic in the Mailroom (2013). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Super Gidget (2019). From the "Sing" franchise: Eddie's Life Coach (2017); Gunter Babysits (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Serenade (2012); Wagon Ho! (2012).

Get a Horse!(en)

Mickey, Minnie, Horace Horsecollar, and Clarabelle Cow go on a musical wagon ride until Peg-Leg Pete tries to run them off the road.

Program(en)

Cis and Duo discuss leaving the real world while during a samurai sword fight. Part of the Animatrix collection of animated shorts set in the Matrix universe.

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too(en)

Rabbit is tired of Tigger always bouncing him, so he gets Pooh and Piglet together to come up with an idea to get the bounce out of Tigger. Then, Tigger and little Roo go out for a bounce and get caught in a tree.