French Animation Unit

Located in Montreal, the NFB’s French Animation Unit is a one-of-a-kind creative space. Freedom of expression, innovation, research and experimentation are at the heart of all of our creative projects. We look for strong narrative or experimental film proposals with unique aesthetic and technical features, across a wide range of animation techniques.

The unit takes a balanced approach to programming, allowing us to reach diverse audiences through different forms and genres, from narrative films that employ more traditional storytelling to experimental films aimed at niche audiences, as well as interactive or immersive projects for public spaces.

The unit is based in Montreal but covers all of francophone Canada. It has about 23 projects—ranging from linear or immersive animation to installations—on the go at any given time, and in every stage of production, from Investigate to Launch. Notable recent productions and co-productions include Janice Nadeau’s film HARVEY (2023), which earned over 90 selections on the festival circuit and won in the Budding Cinephile category of the Young Audience Awards at the Festival Silhouette in Paris, as well as an Audience Award at Countryside Animafest Cyprus; Lori Malépart-Traversy’s Magical Caresses (2022), which won the Rockie Award for Short Form Non-Fiction Series at the Banff World Media Festival and got over 100,000 views after being named a Vimeo Staff Pick; and Francis Papillon’s The Great List of Everything 2 (2022), which won a NUMIX Award in the Clips and Web Series – Youth and Family category.