In case his work is news to you, Back became a household name when he won an Academy Award for The Man Who Planted Trees in 1987, a film that left its mark on many. For me, it was a defining moment in my youth and the emotions and sense of empowerment his work evoked remain vivid in much the same way that reading Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree still leaves me a little choked up. Years later, even after forgetting the plot and characters, I recall how Back's adaptation of Jean Giono's short story made me feel, like the vague, slivered memories of a childhood friend whose been gone for decades.
"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel."
German-born -- in Sarre, a region that used to be part of France -- and raised in Alsace, Back has been in Quebec since 1948 and he's one of Canada's better known animation filmmakers. He's also arguably one of the best too and the Cinémathèque Québécoise is honoring his body of work by offering a film retrospective to the public from Wednesday, June 17 till Friday June 26, 2009. Featuring The Mighty River as well as classics Crac!, Illusion?, Taratata, Abracadabra and more, check out the Cinémathèque Québécoise website for details.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts will also highlight Frédéric Back's accomplishments with a free exhibit of his sketches -- Frédéric Back, Artist: A Force of Nature -- running June 18 through September 27, 2009.
-
Watch:
- The Man Who Planted Trees (Narrated by Christopher Plummer)
- L'homme qui plantait des arbres (Narrated by Philippe Noiret)
- The Mighty River (Narrated by Donald Sutherland)
- Vivace by Richard Vallerand, a Back-inspired short
Comments