Toronto, Canada -- A world-renowned creative laboratory making breakthroughs in animation and stereoscopic 3D (S3D) cinema, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) will showcase its auteur animators at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with four new films. Taking place September 5 to 15, the festival will feature premieres of NFB S3D animated shorts in its Short Cuts Canada program, with The End of Pinky by Claire Blanchet, Impromptu by Bruce Alcock (Global Mechanic Media/NFB), Gloria Victoria by Theodore Ushev and Subconscious Password by Chris Landreth.

Two NFB films will be making their world premiere at TIFF 2013.

SYNOPSIS
The End of Pinky revolves around three fallen angels seeking companionship and humanity in the shadows of the red-light district, in a mythic, magically realized Montreal. The survivor of traumatic childhood experiences recounted in heartbreakingly droll fashion, Johnny is a handsome thief who finds himself drawn to the fragile beauty he sees in Mia. Both have a soft spot for Johnny’s sweet and hapless best friend, Pinky, who also happens to be Johnny’s partner in crime. But when one of Pinky’s endearing quirks sets off a tragicomic chain of events, Johnny plots revenge with seemingly amoral, methodical detachment. As he sets out on his grim mission, Johnny’s chances of ever truly connecting with anyone—including Mia, who reacts to him with a mix of hope and dread—appear unlikely. Peopled with exquisitely conceived characters living on the margins of society, this dark yet whimsical story casts a clear eye on the frailty of human relationships. The film’s hand-drawn pencil and pastel animation, rendered in stereoscopic 3D, conjures a seedy world whose sepia-toned palette evokes cheap whiskey and nicotine stains. The End of Pinky is adapted from an original short story of the same name by award-winning writer Heather O’Neill, who also narrates.

Film Credits
director Claire Blanchet
producer Michael Fukushima