When the Day Breaks
1999 Canadian film
title: "When the Day Breaks" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1999-films", "canadian-animated-short-films", "short-film-palme-d'or-winners", "films-shot-in-montreal", "films-directed-by-wendy-tilby", "national-film-board-of-canada-animated-short-films", "best-animated-short-film-genie-and-canadian-screen-award-winners", "1999-animated-short-films", "animated-films-without-speech", "1990s-canadian-animated-films", "animated-films-about-pigs", "annecy-cristal–winning-films", "1999-canadian-films"] description: "1999 Canadian film" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Day_Breaks" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1999 Canadian film ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | When the Day Breaks |
| director | Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis |
| producer | David Verrall & Barrie Angus McLean |
| music | Judith Gruber-Stitzwer |
| distributor | National Film Board of Canada |
| released | |
| runtime | 9 min. |
| country | Canada |
| :: |
| name = When the Day Breaks | image = | caption = | director = Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis | producer = David Verrall & Barrie Angus McLean | writer = | narrator = | starring = | music = Judith Gruber-Stitzwer | cinematography = | editing = | studio = | distributor = National Film Board of Canada | released = | runtime = 9 min. | country = Canada | language = | budget = | gross = When the Day Breaks is a Canadian animated short co-directed by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis and featuring the voice of Canadian singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright singing the titular song.
Summary
After witnessing an accidental death of a humanoid rooster, Ruby, a humanoid pig, seeks comfort from her everyday life in the city.
Technique
To create the film, directors used pencil and paint on photocopies to achieve a textured look suggestive of a lithograph or a flickering newsreel.
Accolades
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1999, the 9 min. 40 sec. film garnered numerous awards, including the Genie Award for Best Animated Short, the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, TIFF – Best Canadian Short, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival – Animated Short, Grand Prix for short film at Animafest Zagreb and the Banff Television Festival, Best Animation Program. It was also included in the Animation Show of Shows.
It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, but lost to another animated short produced in Montreal: Aleksandr Petrov's Old Man and the Sea.
References
References
- [https://www.cartoonbrew.com/the-animation-that-changed-me/the-animation-that-changed-me-jeremy-clapin-on-when-the-day-breaks-195762.html The Animation That Changed Me: Jérémy Clapin on ‘When The Day Breaks’. Cartoon Brew]
- [https://www.cartoonbrew.com/know-your-indie-filmmaker/indie-filmmaker-amanda-forbis-wendy-tilby-219205.html Know Your Indie Filmmaker: Amanda Forbis And Wendy Tilby. Cartoon Brew]
- [https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2016/01/13/when-the-day-breaks/ Short of the Week]
- "International Festival of Audiovisual Programs".
- [https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/when-rotoscoping-goes-very-very-right When Rotoscoping Goes Very, Very Right. Animation Obsessive]
- (1999). "When the Day Breaks". National Film Board of Canada.
- Punter, Jennie. (Summer 1999). "Wendy Tilby's When the Day Breaks wins at Cannes". [[Wyndham Wise]].
- [https://www.animationshowofshows.com/collections/films/products/when-the-day-breaks-by-wendy-tilby Animation Show of Shows]
- [https://vimeo.com/83712907 When the Day Breaks, by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis (Preview) on Vimeo]
- Hays, Matthew. (March 23, 2000). "Animating Oscar". [[Montreal Mirror]].
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LsGJvg3hfU Animated Short Winner: 2000 Oscars]
- [https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000 2000. Oscars.org]
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