The one in love is always 20 years old, and it is an honour for Canada’s oldest province to entertain a filmic liaison with Filmfest Dresden for its two decades of motion picture celebrations. “Je me souviens”being the official motto of Quebec, it is especially pleasurable to take part in the remembrances marking Dresden’s outstanding affair with the 7th art.

This programme harvests the recent fiction and animation shorts among the finest of Quebec’s vintage, drifting through a cocktail of love, sex, hope and joy. Along with its almost vernacular craftsmanship, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) regularly produces since 1939 some of the finest animations in the world. “Je me souviens
du futur” brings a selection of their best films fresh from the studios, notably Cannes winner Jesse Rosensweet’s amazing second animation made out of tin toys. The year 2008 also marks the fruitful collabora- tion between Saxony and Quebec’s film community, notably with its state agency, Sodec, the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles. Since 1989, its outstanding emerging filmmaker’s fund, run by Marie Potvin, has been an indispensable financial source for most of the best live action short films directed by young directors. It happily shares with Filmfest Dresden the same loving age...

May they all join the festivities of the Florence on the Elbe’s marvellous wonderful movie potlatch, and meet up once again with la crème de
la crème of international short fiction and animation films. Long live Kurzfilm. Long live Filmfest Dresden.

Old Hark enjoys living in his weather-beaten house. One day, a black-robed spectre comes and brandishes the Book of Time. But it’s too soon! The old man will have to reach deep into his memory to keep seeing the birds into spring.

How big is the world? Searching for an answer, a young boy hops the schoolyard fence and disappears into the city.

During a heat wave that hits Montreal, four people are anguishly waiting for the end of the world on a Sunday afternoon...

Eleven year old Lind- say McLean plans her birthday by creating her own funeral ceremony. A strange and stoical party is then thrown.

A whimsical family album on the bewildering events of rootless early years, fleshing out, with engaging candour and gentle humour, a celebration of life filled with magic and mayhem.

A ten-year-old kid must estimate the good and the bad sides of life on earth for school homework. He enumerates all sorts of situations that give life a break or death a chance.

Boys and girls are drifting over the countryside. In a motel at night, they improvise a little orgy but one of them doesn’t cope with the fun.

In a cheerfully coloured mid-century suburban home, optimistic John Small is absorbed by his daily routine, and blissfully oblivious of his lonely and disillusioned wife, Jane.

North America’s very first city was founded exactly four centuries ago this year. As Quebec City blows out its 400 candles, its main media art propaganda group, Antitube, joins in to kick off Free Radicals, a specially blend stew of experimental short films that will rock Raskolnikow Gallery for three nights starting April 16th.

Founder of experimental film group “Double Negative”, Karl Lemieux will present live a unique performance specially created for the Elbflorenz, and three programmes will unveil the frenzy vaults of Quebec independent media art scene, from 60s cult classics to whirly film guru François Miron and the latest UFOs of film collective “Volatile Works”.

An off-off FILMFEST DRESDEN momentum for edgy film lovers not to be missed.

Curated by Etienne Desrosiers and Fabrice Montal.