Festival Year: 2011

films

Johnny

Colorful stop motion, goofy live action, surreal homemade sets, and a ridiculous pigeon costume come together to humorous effect in the story of Johnny — a hilariously narrated, tongue-in-cheek fable about what happens to little boys who don’t drink their milk!
films

Make-Down

In a fantasy vision of transformation, a woman’s face becomes a canvas.
films

Rubika

Welcome to Rubika, a planet with a fancy gravity.
films

Snowflakes and Carrots

A little girl steals the carrot noses from all the snowmen she can find. But why?
films

The Gold Bug

An ultra-low budget kaiju monster movie spoof, the brilliance of which may not be immediately apparent to the untrained viewer. But we assure you, this film is a masterpiece.
films

Pixels

Pixelated old-school video game icons take over New York City (and the world) in this video for French techno-pop band Naïve New Beaters.
films

Fluffy McCloud

A short film about man’s mixed relationship with Mother Nature. Fluffy McCloud uses his powers of precipitation mostly to annoy. But when one of his pranks causes near calamity, he decides to use his meteorological skills to make people happy.
films

The Deep

Metallic objects come to life in the depths of the sea, in the newest film from New York’s brilliant stop-motion artist PES — whose past NYICFF selections include Western Spaghetti, Dogs of War, and Game Over.
films

Gravity

Falling objects are synchronized to produce rhythms and patterns.
films

Dry Fish

A gently paranoid musical animation about finding yourself in unfamiliar surroundings.
films

Mi’au Myau

In this lovely hand-drawn short animation, a group of birds sit together on a branch, chirping away each in their own native tongue. But when an unexpected visitor comes along, his words are universally understood.
films

Aurelie Laflamme’s Diary

Aurelie Laflamme suspects she is an alien. That would explain why she feels different from everyone else, why she can’t string two words together without making a fool of herself, and why boys really get on her nerves. Aurelie’s endearing clumsiness positions her as a pitch-perfect, French-Canadian version of a Judy Blume character as she navigates her way around the strange conventions of planet Earth. With her school days a complete waste of time and her cleaning-obsessed mother too uptight, Aurelie finds solace in the bright lights of the video arcade, playing Dance Dance Revolution and drinking slushies with her best friend, Kat. Whenever her situation becomes too unbearable, her imagination trails off into elaborate fantasy sequences that provide temporary escape — and much amusement for the viewer — but only seem to land her in more trouble. The whims of Aurelie’s imagined world grow more absurd as she is thrown deeper into the clutches of adolescence, facing teachers, tampons, fake tans, and first crushes. Aurelie Laflamme’s Diary juxtaposes these ridiculously silly situations with moments of genuine tenderness, reminding us that Aurelie’s calamitous journey to adulthood is anything but alien.
films

Chandani: The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer

From the producers of last year’s Turtle: The Incredible Journey comes a stunning true-life story set in the magnificent Sri Lankan tropics. Chandani dreams of following in the footsteps of her father and becoming the first female mahout — a guardian of wild elephants. When Chandani is given a baby elephant, she works with him every day, memorizing the guiding techniques and mixing the herbal remedies that have been passed down from generation to generation, inscribed by her great-great grandfather in a book of dried palm leaves. But despite her obvious skill, she is chastised for performing a job considered suited only for men. Chandani is a moving story of ambition, strained traditions, and familial bonds — with astounding footage of Sri Lankan wildlife and close-ups of elephants being trained and cared for (including an adorable sequence of an elephant playing soccer). When she is given permission to participate in the Perahera — a ceremonial procession of fire-dancers, acrobats, and elaborately costumed elephants — Chandani will get the chance to prove whether a girl can, indeed, learn the artistry and patience of a great mahout.
films

Chalk

Two thirteen-year-old professional gymnasts are competing at a national training camp when their friendship is put to the ultimate test. With subdued tones, filmmaker Martina Amati eloquently captures the unspoken tension between friends who are also rivals.
films

Daughters

When her mother becomes pregnant with a boy, 14-year-old Maple is forced into an arranged marriage. Unwilling to resign herself to this fate, she takes a dangerous path to freedom – but is she willing to pay the price?
films

Dot

Dot measures just 9mm tall and was animated using a microscope and tweezers. In the miniature escape adventure, Dot runs away from unraveling thread, jumps over pins, and hitches a ride on the back of a bee.
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