To celebrate the National Film Board's 70th anniversary and to commemorate National Animation Day, Cinematheque is showcasing five full (free!) days of animated splendour, from international selections to recent homegrown experiments. Interspersed throughout are special presentations by two-time Oscar nominee Cordell Barker (The Cat Came Back, Strange Invaders) and Oscar-winner Chris Landreth (Ryan).

In his own broad style that's reminiscent of another legendary Winnipeg animating auteur, Richard Condie, Barker's master lecture on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. will pinpoint the idiosyncrasies of timing, both comic and otherwise, with short segments he's chosen to represent his case.

Oct. 28 sees Barker's most recent work, Runaway, screen in a program comprised of the latest NFB shorts, including Landreth's bizarre oddity The Spine, his first film since 2004's Ryan, a portrait of animator Ryan Larkin. Tragic love stories (Vive La Rose), comic parables with vampires (Land of the Heads), and more intimate, cerebral fare (Peggy Baker Four Phrases) round out the evening.

International animation takes its bow on Oct. 29 with a slate of newer films from such countries as England, France, and even South Korea.

Local flavours are the rage on Oct. 30 at 9 p.m., with Cinematheque's Dave Barber choosing new works from such institutions as Red River College's digital arts program and Collège universitaire de St. Boniface's communication multimedia program, as well as a couple of films from local non-affiliated artists.

The program's title, The Devil Wears a Paper Hat, comes from Curtis Wiebe's comically infused spaghetti western, which contains both animation and live-action. Multi-talented, Wiebe also handles the score for this 15-minute opus and plays the role of the bearded cowboy who encounters the film's central hero, a teenage girl, whom he meets while out in the wintry landscapes of the Manitoba Prairies.

Also on the 30th, at 7 p.m, is Quebec animator Pierre Hébert's live solo projected performance, with his Only the Hand and a recent work, Animation Exercise, filling the bill. Using a dry erase board, markers and felt pens, self-taught artist Hébert will provide a unique viewing experience as his work alters and morphs in front of audience members' eyes.

Born in 1962, Hébert is the true coup of Get Animated! An NFB employee from 1965 until his retirement in 1999, Hébert picked up the Albert Tessier Award (the Quebec Government Award for Cinema) for Lifetime Achievement. He dabbled in expressionist illustrations before his work began to reflect a more social and political bent.

An Afternoon for the Kids takes place on Oct. 31 with a noon workshop for children eight and up, and a 2 p.m. series of shorts fit for the whole family. The day closes with - naturally - a Halloween party.

GET ANIMATED!
Presented by the NFB
Oct. 27-31, Cinematheque
Admission is free