When the Day Breaks

19999 min 40 secFilm: Animation

G

Direction: Wendy TilbyAmanda Forbis

Production: David VerrallBarrie Angus McLean

After witnessing the accidental death of a stranger, Ruby seeks affirmation in the city around her, and finds it in surprising places. With deft humour and finely rendered detail, When the Day Breaks illuminates the links which connect our urban lives, while evoking the promise and fragility of a new day. Co-directors Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis use pencil and paint on photocopies to achieve a textured look suggestive of a lithograph or a flickering newsreel. In When the Day Breaks, the ordinary--a lemon, a toaster, a chance collision on a street corner--is endowed with a visceral power. A film without words.

Subject categories


  • Social Issues > Individual in Society
  • Psychology and Psychiatry > Individual in SocietyLife and Death
  • Family Studies/Home Economics > Aging/Death and Dying
  • Ethics and Religious Culture > Ethical Values
  • Diversity > Identity

Credits


direction
Wendy Tilby
Amanda Forbis
animation
Wendy Tilby
Amanda Forbis
concept
Wendy Tilby
additional animation
Martin Rose
consulting editor
Haida Paul
music
Judith Gruber-Stitzer
arrangements
Dave Gossage
Judith Gruber-Stitzer
lyrics
Wendy Tilby
Amanda Forbis
singer
Martha Wainwright
Chaim Tannenbaum
musician
Richard Beaudet
Kevin Dean
Thom Gossage
Normand Guilbeault
Eric Longsworth
Collin Biggin
Philippe Dunnigan
David Grott
Frédéric Lefebvre
Marc Villemure
sound editing
Marie-Claude Gagné
foley
Andy Malcolm
sound recording
Geoffrey Mitchell
Gaëtan Pilon
re-recording
Shelley Craig
Jean Paul Vialard
visual effects
Susan Gourley
animation assistance
Luigi Allemano
post-production coordination
Éric Barbeau
program administrator
Carrol Smith
Ida Di Fruscia
Gisèle Guilbault
producer
David Verrall
executive producer
Barrie Angus McLean
David Verrall

Awards


  • Award for Best of International Session 3International Animation Festival
  • Grand Award - Best of the FestivalInternational Animation Festival
  • Award for Most Innovative Short Film or Video - given by the Youth Jury (Ages 13+)Reel to Real International Film Festival for Youth and Families
  • Grand Prix - with a cash prize of 1,000,000yen ($13,800Cdn)International Animation Festival
  • Best Animation ProgramWorld Media Festival
  • Best Canadian Short - with a cash prize of 1,000$Atlantic International Film Festival
  • Canada's Choice Award - Category: Best Short FilmMoving Pictures
  • Frederic Back Award for Best Canadien Film - with a cash prize of 7,500$International Animation Festival
  • Grand PrizeLos Angeles Animation Competition / World Animation Celebration (Wacfest)
  • Silver Star AwardCalifornia SUN International Animation Festival
  • Best Animated Short Film AwardFilm Festival
  • Genie Award for Best Animated ShortGenie Awards
  • Golden Spire - Category: Animation / Division: Film and VideoGolden Gate Awards Competition & International Film Festival
  • Best Animated Short AwardInternational Film Festival
  • Ellen Hunt Special Award - for most original film (Tied with The Little Girl who sold the Sun - Djibril Diop Mambety, Senegal) - with a cash award of 5,000$USAspen Shortfest
  • Gold Hugo - Category: AnimationInternational Film Festival
  • Director's Choice Award - with a cash prize of 100$USBlack Maria Film and Video Festival
  • Bronze Medal - Short Films Category: Film and Video (Non-Broadcast)The New York Festivals / Festival Competition
  • Award for animation given by Sputnik7.com - with a cash prize of 2,000$USNew York City Short Film Festival
  • Process Award for Visual Excellence - with a cash prize of 500$International Film Festival
  • Audience Choice Award - Category: Shorts ProgramLake Placid Film Forum
  • Bronze Plaque Award - Category: Arts and Culture International Film and Video Festival
  • Best Animated Short Award - with a copy of "LightWave (6)", industry leading 3D animation software from New Tek.South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW)
  • Grand Prize for Best Short Subject AnimatedWorldFest - International Film Festival
  • FIPRESCI Award - International Film Critics' / For it's outstanding cinematic way of portraying human emotionsInternational Animated Film Festival
  • Grand Prix for best animated short film "Annecy 99"International Animated Film Festival
  • Palme d'Or - Category: Short FilmInternational Film Festival
  • Bronze Bird AwardInternational Animation Festival
  • Third Prize - Category: Animation (Tied with Au Bout du Monde by Konstantin Bronzit) given by the German Institute of Animation Film - with a cash prize of 3,000DM (1,500DM each film)Filmfest - International Festival for Animation and Short Films
  • Class B Award (films between 6 -13 minutes) - given by the International JuryInternational Animated Film Festival / CINANIMA
  • Honorable Mention from the Jury RTP (Portuguese State Channel) International Animated Film Festival / CINANIMA
  • Grand Prix of International JuryInternational Children's Film Festival - GOLDFISH
  • Grand Prix of Children's JuryInternational Children's Film Festival - GOLDFISH
  • Grand Prix - with a cash prize of 2,035$USWorld Festival of Animated Films
  • Golden Dove - with a cash prize of 6,000DM (4,539$Cdn)International Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
  • Best Animated Short Award - with a cash prize of 1,070$CdnMEDIAWAVE / International Festival of Visual Arts
  • MentionFestival international du film sur l'énergie