Movies: Michael Fukushima

Following the end of a stormy love affair, Expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka enlists in the First World War. After suffering serious injuries in battle, he experiences a series of memories and visions as medics transport him through the forests of...

This is a combination of stop-motion puppet and drawn animation. We observe a forlorn woman on a Halifax dock, whose loneliness is lifted by the passing of a fishing trawler. A metaphor on the connectiveness of water and water's capacity as a medium ...

A polar bear must try his luck finding a job in the big city when the last of his Arctic ice environment disappears. It’s hard fitting into the human world, however, so this bear finds a more creative solution to his predicament. This film was made a...

Based on the shamanic rituals in Mongolia and Siberia, this is a testament to the need to reclaim the ideas of animism for planetary health and non-human materialities....

Many cultures have viewed the lunar eclipse as a powerful reminder of the Day of Judgment. People chant prayers, sing songs and recite poetry, all in an effort to communicate with nature and the cosmic forces in the sky. They ask for forgiveness or u...

This short animation tells the story of Saoussan, a young girl struggling to adjust to life in Canada after being uprooted from her wartorn homeland. She has come to seek a quieter and safer life, although memories of war and death linger, memories t...

In this animated short, filmmaker Chris Hinton and composer Michael Oesterle leap back and forth between picture and sound. The dynamic movement of Hinton's visual art dances in syncopation with the bold musical strokes of an original modern classica...

As a young fisherman cruises along a rugged shoreline, a tiny mouse in Haida regalia appears and starts to knit a blanket. A story unfolds on the blanket as it grows longer, illustrating the ancient tale of Haida master sea hunter Naa-Naa-Simgat and ...

A robot rambles about frenetically, receiving countless electronic messages through his antenna every second. Despite his fatigue and stress, he never slows down. The only thing that might bring his frantic journey to an end is a traffic accident. Th...

An unapologetic confrontation of cultural appropriation and everything that’s wrong with hipsters in headdresses....

In this autobiographical animated short, Elise Simard crafts the story of a young girl seeking self-discovery and rebirth. Drifting between real and imagined events, the film uses time-lapse photography with ink and pastels, creating a haunting, comp...

A modern adaptation of the myth of Hercules, BAM tells the story of a young boxer struggling to negotiate between his shy, bookish nature and a divinely violent temper. Where does this rage come from? Is it psychological or environmental - or is it ...

Director Theodore Ushev uses his own blood to animate struggles with injustice in the world....

A gentle tale of love told in halting words. A film about healing after profound loss. John and Michael pays homage to two men with Down's syndrome who shared an intimate and profoundly loving relationship that deeply affected the filmmaker. Animate...

In this short animation, a young boy takes a flying leap away from normal, waves goodbye to his classmates, and disappears into the cityscape and beyond. At the same time, a young girl is inspired to reinvent her space with art....

A pithy critique of society's commercialization of water, abetted by an utter disregard for the future. The film is a mixed media whirlwind of hyperactive animated collage. This film was made as part of the first edition of the NFB's Hothouse apprent...

In this whimsical animated short, filmmaker Rachel Peters asks: "what if the laws of physics suddenly ceased to apply?" Peters explores this question through the tale of a man and his two goldfish as they prepare for the end of the world. Technique: ...

The bombing of the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, by a nation he knew only by name, thrust nine-year-old Minoru Fukushima into a world of racism so malevolent he would be forced to leave Canada, the land of his birth. Like thousands of other Ja...

This experimental animation film examines society's deification of architecture and urbanization in the modern world and the impact on our relationship to nature. This film was made with the NFB Hothouse program for emerging filmmakers....

Meet Annie, a woman who, despite being caught up in the circus of everyday life, finds her balance. Using live-action footage and traditional animation, filmmaker Anita Lebeau takes us on a whirlwind tour through Annie’s busy world and shows us the p...