‘Piluk,’ an animated short from Canada’s National Film Board, has its world premiere at Locarno, following a young girl born with wings as she moves between the natural world and the city.
‘Piluk,’ a new animated short produced by the National Film Board of Canada, has its world premiere at the 2026 Locarno Film Festival. The film is competing in the Pardi di Domani section, which showcases short and medium-length works and highlights new directions in cinema.
The film follows a young girl named Piluk, who is born from a single feather and grows up connected to the land and the natural world. Her journey takes her between the tundra and a city of concrete, as she moves through childhood and toward adulthood while trying to maintain her connection to her origins.
‘Piluk’ was created by Elisapie Isaac and Marc Séguin, marking their first collaboration on an animated project. Isaac, an Inuk writer, singer, songwriter and filmmaker, serves as writer, director and composer of the film, while Séguin is credited as writer, director and artistic director.
The 10-minute-and-30-second film combines traditional handmade animation with graphite, acrylic and pastel drawings on textured paper. Isaac’s original music is also an important part of the film, helping create a sensory atmosphere around Piluk’s story.
The filmmakers have described the project as a story about identity, attachment to the land, transmission between generations and the invisible connections people maintain with their origins. The film draws on Inuit storytelling traditions while using animation to explore universal emotions and experiences.
The National Film Board of Canada produced the film with Jelena Popović and Marc Bertrand as producers, while Christine Noël and Julie Roy served as executive producers. The animation team was led by Parissa Mohit.
With its premiere at Locarno, ‘Piluk’ brings together Inuit storytelling, handmade animation, music and visual art in a short film centered on identity and belonging.
