‘Exciting online premieres and Asian Heritage Month celebration happening in May at nfb.ca’

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) has curated a collection of powerful and thought-provoking free programming for the month of May on nfb.ca. With five online premieres and special programming for Asian Heritage Month, the NFB website now offers over 6,500 online films and a collection of more than 100 interactive works.

Starting on May 1, viewers can enjoy the online premiere of “Boat People,” an animated short doc by Toronto creators Thao Lam and Kjell Boersma. This film follows one Vietnamese family’s journey through history using a striking metaphor. Additionally, the NFB’s Asian Canadian Perspectives and Animation by Women of Asian Descent channels will showcase over 50 new and classic works, along with a Curator’s Perspective by Camilo Martin-Florez discussing impactful Asian-Canadian stories.

On May 9, the online premiere of “Losing Blue” by Alberta filmmaker Leanne Allison will be available for viewing. This short doc is a cinematic poem highlighting the effects of climate change on ancient mountain lakes and has been named Best Canadian Short Film at the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival.

Starting May 13, the NFB’s Hothouse residency program for emerging animators will return with a new crop of promising creators offering their take on the theme, “Small Things Considered.” The 14th edition of Hothouse features six one-minute animated shorts by creators from across Canada.

On May 24, the hard-hitting feature doc “Malartic” by Quebec filmmaker Nicolas Paquet will debut online, chronicling the broken promises behind Canada’s largest open-pit gold mine. The film serves as a troubling case study of opaque decision-making systems and will be available for viewing following a world premiere and theatrical run in Quebec.

Finally, on May 27, viewers can enjoy the online premiere of “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” a hand-drawn animated documentary exploring love, grief, and imagination created through a collaboration between mother, elder, and narrator Edith Almadi and the Winnipeg visual art duo Natalie Baird and Toby Gillies.

Founded in 1939, the NFB is a unique producer, co-producer, and distributor of documentary and animated films. With over eight decades of storytelling experience, the NFB’s films serve as a reliable educational resource and a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. Viewers can stream over 6,500 works for free on nfb.ca, where the NFB has earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.