Sandra Oh, Ellen Page and Don McKellar lend their voices to this warm and witty animated feature by Ann Marie Fleming (The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam), about a young Canadian poet who undergoes a life-changing experience when she attends a poetry festival in Iran.
Ann Marie Fleming, one of Canada's most beloved animators, is back with an extraordinary tale of art, history, and family.
Rosie is a young Canadian poet of Chinese and Persian descent. She lives in Vancouver with her overprotective but loving Chinese grandparents and dreams of an artistic and glamorous life abroad. An invitation to a poetry festival in Shiraz, Iran, rocks her boat, and though she has never travelled on her own, she decides to embark on the trip that will change her life. In Iran, she meets fellow artists from around the world and locals who open her eyes to the nature of art. They become guides to Rosie's own personal narrative as they offer new perspectives on the story of a father she thought had abandoned her. Her time in Shiraz will be a transformative one during which she will learn to ground herself by connecting with her own roots, both far and near.
Voiced by an all-star cast that includes Sandra Oh, Ellen Page, and Don McKellar, the characters display the intelligence and humour typical of Fleming's work. The film seamlessly integrates different animation styles to express Rosie's diverse experiences; the richness of this world is presented for the audience to marvel at with the same wide-eyed wonder as Rosie. One of the most magical things about Window Horses is how a single sentence, an idea, or a scrap of history can come to life in the most colourful and graceful of ways, flowering into a poetic universe all its own.
MAGALI SIMARD
This film has been selected for the next generation of film lovers by the TIFF Next Wave Committee
Screenings
Scotiabank 11
Isabel Bader Theatre
Scotiabank 3