A gentle tale of love told in halting words. A film about healing after profound loss.

John and Michael pays homage to two men with Down syndrome who shared an intimate and profoundly loving relationship that deeply affected the filmmaker. Animated with clay backlit on glass, the film shimmers like stained glass in motion. Narrator Brian Davis, also intellectually challenged, brings the men alive with great sensitivity. The audience shares in the various emotions that infuse their everyday living.

John and Michael, by its artistry, rises above society’s traditional ideas around disability, sexuality and death. When the heart is touched, differences melt. Love is what defines humanity.

Technique: Clay backlit on glass

filmmaker - Shira Avni

Born in Petakh Tikvah, Israel in 1974, Shira Avni was raised in Montreal. She graduated with a BFA in Animation from Concordia University in 1998, and has worked as a director and animator at the National Film Board of Canada from 1997 to the present. Her first film, From Far Away, part of the Talespinners collection, has screened in over thirty festivals worldwide and has won several prizes, including the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Children’s Production at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival.

Shira received her MFA in Film/Video/New Media from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in May 2003, and returned to Montreal to pursue her teaching and filmmaking career. She is currently a part-time faculty member at Concordia University’s Cinema program, and has taught numerous animation workshops in Montreal, Chicago, and Seoul. Her latest film, John and Michael, continues her passion for creating innovative and challenging children’s media.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada and Shira Avni.