Mystery of the Secret Room
National Film Board of Canada
•
5m 44s
Directed by Wanda Nolan • Animation • 2016 • 6 minutes
Mystery of the Secret Room takes viewers on a spellbinding voyage between the real and the imaginary. An inspiring portrait of family, adversity, and resilience, this richly hued animated short tells the tale of 10-year-old Grace, who uses her creative superpowers to navigate the emotional landscape of her mother's depression.Writer/filmmaker Wanda Nolan collaborated with animator Claire Blanchet to weave together a deeply moving story. Hand-drawn animations bring two distinct worlds to life: the muted, solid world of "reality" and the saturated palette of Grace's imagination.Through a mixture of techniques and media, including drawn backgrounds, landscape photography, and ink and pastel on paper, Mystery of the Secret Room offers a textured story-world full of surprises, challenges, and emotions, while celebrating the transformative powers of literature and the imagination.
Up Next in National Film Board of Canada
-
No Fish Where to Go
Directed by Nicola Lemay & Janice Nadeau • Animation • 2014 • 12 minutes
"Our planet—inhabited by people with different languages and customs." A friendship unites two little girls from opposing clans in a village where tensions are mounting. The Red Shoes have taken control of one side of t...
-
Oscar
Directed by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre • Animation • 2016 • 12 minutes
Brilliantly mixing animated sequences and archival footage, Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre paints a touching portrait of virtuoso pianist Oscar Peterson. As with her previous films (McLaren's Negative and Jutra), Saint-Pierre pursues...
-
Pilots on the Way Home
Directed by Olga Pärn & Priit Pärn • Animation • 2014 • 16 minutes
Having suffered the loss of their plane, three pilots inexplicably find themselves stranded in the middle of the desert. While following the perilous and unpredictable course that will ultimately lead them home, they fall pre...
