Year: 1998
Language: English
Format: 16mm Colour
Runtime: 23 min
Director: Mary Lewis
Producer: Mary Lewis
Writer: Mary Lewis
Cinematographer: Michael Jones
Editor: Mary Lewis, Derek Norman
Sound: Derek Norman, Paul Steffler
Music: Matthew Glover, Mark Walker
Cast: Mary Lewis, Eva Crocker, Bonnie Dean, Alicia Richardson, Gabriel Williams, James Allodi

When Ponds Freeze Over mixes animation, hand-colouring, experimentation and narrative sequences. In this film about remembering, a mother recounts an incident that occurred while she was skating as a young child. Her father falls through the ice and, in an effort to save him, she also goes through. Struggling to get out, she swims in a dream of memory. The tradition of family narratives is passed on from mother to daughter, and the tales of a family’s eccentricities are transformed into bedtime fables.

When Ponds Freeze Over was named Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival® and Best Animated Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It also won the Genie Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

By: Liz Czach