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Taratata + All Nothing + Crac! + The Man Who Planted Trees

Taratata + Tout rien + Crac! + L'homme qui plantait des arbres (French)
Location
Main screening room
Date
April 7th, 2024
Admission
Suggested viewing age: 8 and up
Duration
70 min
Cycle
Frédéric Back’s Centennial

This screening pays tribute to one of the greatest artists of animation cinema, the Quebecois painter and filmmaker Frédéric Back, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on April 8, 2024. Poetic, tender, impressionistic, and an early ambassador for the environmental cause, Frédéric Back's cinema continues to amaze and move audiences. The four films presented, all preserved in our collections, reflect the scope of his talent and inventiveness.

These films are preserved in our collections

Taratata
Directed by
Frédéric Back
Language
No dialogue
Origins
Quebec
Year
1977
Duration
9 min
Genre
Animation
Format
16 mm
Synopsis

For a little boy and his dog, the National Day Parade is reduced to a wall of adults blocking their view. But when it's all over, the little boy sits down in the empty street and his imagination invents and recreates a celebration where love and tenderness are the stars.

Taratata
All Nothing
Directed by
Frédéric Back
Language
No dialogue
Origins
Quebec
Year
1978
Duration
11 min
Genre
Animation
Format
35 mm
Synopsis

An allegory illustrating man's desire to monopolize all the riches and beauty of nature. (Frédéric Back)

All Nothing
Crac!
Directed by
Frédéric Back
Language
French
Origins
Quebec
Year
1981
Duration
15 min
Genre
Animation
Format
35 mm
Synopsis

The rocking chair sets the pace for the entire life of a Quebec family. When the city invades the countryside, the family becomes smaller and the chair no longer occupies center stage. Unless the janitor of the Museum of Modern Art has retained his taste for rocking...

Crac!
Awards
The Man Who Planted Trees
Directed by
Frédéric Back
Language
French
Origins
Quebec
Year
1987
Duration
30 min
Genre
Animation
Format
35 mm
Synopsis

In a dry valley, a man plants trees one by one to bring nature back to life. Wax crayons animation on frosted acetate.

The Man Who Planted Trees
Awards
The Saint-Jean parade, the journey of a rocking chair, the relationship between man and nature, or the story of an ecology pioneer based on a short story by Jean Giono... Impressionistic, poetic, pacifist, the animated cinema of the great Frédéric Back urges reflection and wonder at any age.

Frédéric Back

Born in 1924 in the Saarland, a German territory under France administration at the time, Frédéric Back grew up surrounded by a musician father and an artist mother. He studied drawing at a young age and later attended art school. He began his career as a painter before moving to Montreal in 1948, where he taught at l'École du meuble and the School of Fine Arts. In 1968, he joined Radio-Canada's animation studio. There, he created ten short films that would showcase his talent and earn him international acclaim. With Crac and The Man Who Planted Trees, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film twice. Throughout his life and in his films, he was always involved in ecological projects and made sure to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Explore

Frédéric Back: The Legacy of a Pioneer at Radio-Canada

Let's pay tribute to the artist Frédéric Back. The work of this exceptional illustrator and filmmaker is intimately linked to the history of Radio-Canada. [Their] archives allow us to trace his career under three main aspects: the television pioneer, the master of animation, and the committed artist.

About Frédéric Back
Filmography
Open
December 4th, 2024 - January 15th, 2025
7 x the Bolero
December 6th, 2024
Fleischer's Silent films