Private Project

The Wind and the Trees

Deep in the boreal forest, a mature pine tree and a seedling begin a conversation. As the years pass, they observe the ever-present wind and the many ways it affects them. A quiet story about the circle of life.
Adapted from the Governor General's Award nominated children's book of the same name.
Il existe aussi une version française du film, intitulée "Quand le vent souffle".

  • Todd Allan Stewart
    Director
  • Todd Allan Stewart
    Writer
  • Joanne Robertson
    Producer
  • Kara Blake
    Editor/Compositor
  • Brigitte Archambault
    Animation
  • Gordon Neil Allen
    Sound Design
  • Olga Goreas
    Music
  • Jace Lasek
    Music
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 10, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Chicago International Children's Film Festival
    Chicago
    United States
    November 4, 2022
    North American Premiere
    STEM Award
  • Barcelona International Short Film Festival
    Barcelona
    Spain
    November 13, 2022
    European Premiere
    Best Animated Short
  • Providence Children's Film Festival
    Providence, RI
    United States
    February 20, 2023
    East Coast Premiere
  • San Francisco International Film Festival
    San Francisco
    United States
    April 15, 2023
    West Coast Premiere
  • Los Angeles International Children's Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    May 20, 2023
  • Los Angeles Animation Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Honorable Mention
  • Palm Springs International Animation Festival
    Palm Springs
    United States
  • Vienna Shorts
    Vienna
    Austria
    June 5, 2023
  • Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg
    Hamburg
    Germany
    June 6, 2023
    German Premiere
  • INTERFILM - International Short Film Festival Berlin
    Berlin
    Germany
    November 14, 2023
  • Turku Animated Film Festival
    Turku
    Finland
  • Filmfest Osnabrück
    Osnabrück
    Germany
    October 4, 2024
  • Rochester International Children's Film Festival
    Rochester
    United States
    May 25, 2024
  • Culmea Film Festival
    Culmea
    Romania
    October 16, 2024
Director Biography - Todd Allan Stewart

Todd Stewart is a silkscreen printmaker, author and illustrator based in Montreal, Canada. "The Wind and the Trees" is his first film.

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Director Statement

This is the animated film version of a picture book I both wrote and illustrated, published first in French as Quand le vent souffle (Comme des géants) and then in English (Owlkids Books), which was nominated for the 2021 Governor General’s Literary Award.
While working on the book, I had always envisioned the movement of the trees in the wind and it seemed a logical step to bring this movement to life through film. The artwork for the book was created entirely in silkscreen prints and I incorporated silkscreened elements throughout the film.
The dialogue between trees in the film comes through the sound of the wind, which is then subtitled. It was my conscious decision to not give human qualities to the trees, and therefore not to have human voices provide the dialogue.
We received funding to produce English and French versions of the film from the Canada Council for the Arts.