The HPO

The Eighth Day of Creation(es)

At the end of the eighth day the Creator has taken refuge in a dark dungeon . Obsessed with transcending he manipulates life to the extreme and tries to engender the perfect being that will immortalize him

Persepolis(fr)

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

Rhinoceros(de)

Based on Eugene Ionesco’s play, this is an animated film warning that by conforming to patterns and living en masse, people will become rhinoceroses.

The Tale of Tsar Saltan(ru)

The story is about three sisters. The youngest is chosen by Tsar Saltan to be his wife. He orders the other two sisters to be his royal cook and weaver. They become jealous of their younger sister. When the tsar goes off to war, the tsaritsa gives birth to a son, Prince Gvidon (Gvidón.) The older sisters arrange to have the tsaritsa and the child sealed in a barrel and thrown into the sea. The sea takes pity on them and casts them on the shore of a remote island, Buyan. The son, having quickly grown while in the barrel, goes hunting. He ends up saving an enchanted swan from a kite bird. The swan creates a city for Prince Gvidon to rule, but he is homesick, so the swan turns him into a mosquito to help him. In this guise, he visits Tsar Saltan's court, where he stings his aunt in the eye and escapes. Back in his realm, the swan gives Gvidon a magical squirrel. But he continues to pine for home, so the swan transforms him again, this time into a fly.

CyberWorld(en)

A collaboration of computer-animated films which features new characters and old friends from the award-winning Fox network television series, "The Simpsons" and Dreamworks' feature film "Antz" The saucy, synthetic hostess, Phig, takes the viewers through Cyberworld 3D, a futuristic gallery of wild adventure and spectacular images. Trouble arrives in the form of three unwelcomed guests named Buzzed, Wired and Frazzled who are inadvertently destroying the environment's foundation, forcing Phig into a hilarious battle to save herself and Cyberworld 3D from total annihilation!

Mad God: Part 1(en)

Mad God is a fully practical stop-motion film set in a Miltonesque world of monsters, mad scientists, and war pigs.

Distant Islands(en)

This short animation uses appliqué and embroidered tapestries to recall a young girl's happy summers spent sailing with her family off the coast of British Columbia. Each tapestry, meticulously stitched by hand with brightly coloured yarns, evokes the memory of leisurely days at sea, drifting among the islands.

MacPherson(en)

This animated film by Martine Chartrand (Black Soul) recounts the friendship between a young Félix Leclerc and Frank Randolph Macpherson, a Jamaican chemical engineer and university graduate who worked for a pulp and paper company. An inveterate jazz fan, Macpherson inspired Leclerc, who wrote a song about the log drives and entitled it “MacPherson” in honour of his friend. Paint-on-glass animation shot with a 35mm camera.

Prehistoric Perils(en)

Mighty Mouse encounters a Time Machine while trying to save pure-hearted Pearl Pureheart from the unwanted advances and clutches of the evil oily-villain, Oil Can Harry. After brief stops in 1620 and 1890, and ancient Egypt, Mighty Mouse finds himself in the prehistoric age of the dinosaurs. He mops up on Harry and the dinosaurs, proving he can take care of anyone, anyplace, anywhere at any time.

Walt Disney's Standard Parade for 1939(en)

A live action black-and-white prolog tells the story of how Walt Disney came to Hollywood with $300, was rejected by all the major studios, but went on to tremendous success, many awards, and a thriving studio. Titles then ask what this means to the Standard Oil Salesman, and a parade of Disney characters gives us the answer, featuring Mickey as drum major, Minnie carrying a banner, and the 7 Dwarfs carrying the letters "STANDARD" (Dopey gets stuck with the last two): Apparently the various ads for Standard will be featuring Disney characters in the coming year.

A Place in the Sun(cs)

Oscar nominated animated short film from Czechoslovakia, 1960. Two characters fight over their claim to a small sunny spot on a beach.

Polka Graph(en)

Short film by Mary Ellen Bute

Of Shadows and Wings(fr)

In a society where the greatest concern is the size and power of one’s wings, nihilist Ciobeck tries to protect Moann. But how can one survive in a barren land populated by imprisoned-mind people?

O Boto(pt)

My Childhood Mystery Tree(ru)

When a small boy loses his favourite toy – a small teddy bear – this draws him into the inner world of his childhood. Nonetheless, he must destroy this realm if he wants to grow up.

Artbreak, MTV Networks, Inc.(en)

1987, 30 sec, color, sound Produced for an Artbreak segment on MTV Network, this dynamic "thirty-second spot" presents an abbreviated history of animation according to the representation of women, from the cell imagery of Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell series to the contemporary digital effects of television. In Birnbaum's vision, Fleischer's spilled inkwell releases cartoon bubbles containing images of women from MTV music videos. With wit and panache, Birnbaum reverses the traditional sexual roles of the producer and product of commercial imagery: The final image is that of a female artist on whose video "palette" we see a glimpse of Fleischer.

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 6(en)

All alone, Yellow Guy tries to stop a lamp from teaching him about dreams. While Red Guy finds out the truth about the puppets' existence.

Alarm(ko)

Snooze buttons, sunlight…the inescapable cacophony of alarm alerts: waking up in the morning is a battle between the present and the future state of mind. A dream-like war with yourself and other objects that seem to take a life of its own.

The Candlemaker(en)

A candlemaker entrusts his young son with the task of making candles for their church on Christmas Eve.

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/

The FGM Detectives(en)

The horrific crime of female genital mutilation is banned in the UK but it is estimated that nearly 20,000 young women a year are still at risk of the procedure. And despite being banned more than 30 years ago, there have been no successful convictions. This harrowing documentary, from reporter Cathy Newman, follows the work of DCI Leanne Pook and her team, who are tackling the crime in Bristol.

Life of a Mutt(sr)

Through seven scenes, the film follows the life and destinies of stray dogs from the margins of our society, leading us to reconsider our attitude towards them. Through the seven “wandering” characters that we follow at different ages, from birth to old age, we witness their dignified struggle for survival. At the cemetery, in an abandoned factory, in an asylum, in a landfill, in places full of sorrow, our heroes search for love and togetherness. By combining documentary material, animation and acting interpretation of the thoughts of our heroes, we get to know lives between disappointment and hope, quite similar to ours.

Ilegal(pt)

Her daughter afflicted by a rare epilepsy, Katiele tries desperately to obtain the only thing that can relieve it: a substance derived from marijuana.

Black Gunn(en)

A successful and popular nightclub owner who believes financial independence is the path to equality and success, must act as a go-between for militant-minded brother and the white gang syndicate his brother has attacked and robbed. Their involvements lead to a breathless race course chase, the destruction of a dopepusher and a violent waterfront climax.

Moscow Suburbs Elegy(ru)

While people's artist of the USSR Sergey Cherkassky "fights" with the role of king Lear, trying to understand the psychology and actions of Shakespeare's character, his own large family presents him with one riddle after another. His daughter Elena, who broke off her unsuccessful marriage, falls in love with rock musician Dean Makarov. The grandfather does not know that the son of his late daughter - in-law Sonia is gay, who is madly in love with the same Dean. All Sonya's daughter, Lala, "twists" the love with a student Vakhtangov school, the future actor Misha, but dreams of a luxurious life abroad. Son of Sergei Andreevich, father of Vitya and Lyali - Andrey - General, Hero of Russia, serving in Chechnya.

C-Man(en)

A customs agent follows a jewel smuggler's trail of corpses from Paris to New York.

Starting Over(ja)

Nana is 19 and lives in a corner of Tokyo. Her birth mother and Marin, a girl the same age who she loves, were the only people she could trust. Nana confronts them in her yearning for love, but the world does not give it to her. With her whole life ahead of her, Nana struggles, suffers, and begins a search for the true meaning of love.

Maldición gitana(es)

Bamse and the Witch's Daughter(sv)

In Bamse and the Witch’s daughter Croesus Vole finds gold in the beavers' dam. To demolish the dam and get the gold he tricks the witch's daughter Lova to enchant Bamse. With Bamse gone, it's up to the children to help each other to stop Croesus - but to do that they have to be friends.

Pink Ribbons, Inc.(en)

Breast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless women and men walk, bike, climb and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are raised in the name of breast cancer, but where does this money go and what does it actually achieve? Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," becomes obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success.

The other side of the line(pt)

John is a young Journalism student, he worked for years in a telemarketing service untill the burnout crisis. Now he wants to suit the enterprise for harassment at work, back and mental problems.

The Metropolitan Opera: Der Rosenkavalier(de)

A dream cast assembles for Strauss’s grand Viennese comedy. Soprano Lise Davidsen is the aging Marschallin, opposite mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as her lover Octavian and soprano Erin Morley as Sophie, the beautiful younger woman who steals his heart. Bass Günther Groissböck returns as the churlish Baron Ochs, and baritone Markus Brück is Sophie’s wealthy father, Faninal. Maestro Simone Young takes the Met podium to oversee Robert Carsen’s fin-de-siècle staging.

J'ai tué Clémence Acéra(fr)

A man's wife has disappeared; her diary gives the police detailed account of their sexual life.

The Big Laugh(en)

In 2021, Luke and Jackson were watching The Evil Dead in the second floor boys dorm lobby. Suddenly Zak showed up and the rest is history.

The Sixth Child(fr)

Franck, a scrap merchant, and Meriem have five children, a sixth on the go, and serious money issues. Julien and Anna are lawyers and cannot have a child. This is the story of an inconceivable agreement.

Luchando por el petróleo(en)

The World and Its Woman(en)

A Russian peasant girl rises to fame as an operatic diva. She becomes beloved of a Russian prince. When the 1917 revolution overthrows the czar's government, the pair attempts to cross the icy steppes and find their way to America.

Cazadora(es)

In a dystopian future, a mother and her teenage son go hunting in the mountains and encounter a stranger who threatens to upend their relationship.

Lucky for Us!(sl)

Izidor is dreaming of becoming a real firefighter, despite not being taken seriously. Everything changes when he wins the lottery.