With two Academy Awards, two additional Oscar nominations, and literally dozens of festival prizes and citations, Frédéric Back ranks among the world's most honored animator-directors. Back joined the nascent animation studio at the CBC/Radio-Canada in 1968. He found his artistic voice in 1980, when he began drawing in colored pencil on frosted acetate cels. The result was All-Nothing (Tout-Rien, 1980), which earned his first Oscar nomination. Like all Back's films, All-Nothing combines a delicate beauty with a plea for an environmentally sane way of life. His next film, Crac! (1981), a charming chronicle of the changes the 20th century brings to life in rural Québec, won the Oscar for Animated Short. Back followed Crac! with The Man Who Planted Trees (1987), based on a story by Jean Giono. He spent more than five years on the film, with only a single assistant to help color the drawings. Back won an Oscar for The Man Who Planted Trees and dozens of other prizes worldwide. He received an additional Oscar nomination for his most recent film, The Mighty River (1993), a history of human interaction with the Saint Lawrence River.

In addition to his own reflections on his work and animation, Back's influence on contemporary animation will be explored through personal commentary and analysis by some of today's most respected animators and historians, including Pete Docter (Monsters Inc.), Production Designer Paul Felix (Lilo and Stitch and The Emperor's New Groove), Glen Keane (Tarzan, Pocahontas), Bob Kurtz (owner of Kurtz and Friends Animation Studio), and Charles Solomon (animation critic for The Los Angeles Times). Guest speakers are subject to availability.