Great Grand Mother

Great Grand Mother 1975

1

This short film is an ode to the women who settled the Prairies, from the days of early immigration to 1916 - when Manitobans became the first women in Canada to receive the provincial vote - and beyond. Recollections of women are complemented by a series of quotations drawn from letters, diaries, and newspapers of the day, which are spoken over re-enacted scenes and archival photographs.

1975

this river

this river 2016

1

Join a grassroots collective of volunteers as they search Winnipeg’s Red River and its banks for clues to find out what happened to their missing family and friends. The documentary demonstrates the devastating experience of searching for a loved one who didn't come home with profundity and humanity.

2016

Our Nationhood

Our Nationhood 2003

7.00

In this feature-length documentary, Indigenous filmmaker and artist Alanis Obomsawin chronicles the determination and tenacity of the Listuguj Mi'kmaq people to use and manage the natural resources of their traditional lands. The film provides a contemporary perspective on the Mi'kmaq people's ongoing struggle and ultimate success, culminating in the community receiving an award for Best Managed River from the same government that had denied their traditional rights.

2003

The Dirt on Soap

The Dirt on Soap 2000

10.00

How soap cleans? Part of the Science Please! collection for children.

2000

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows

Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows 1998

7.47

This documentary follows superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF. The film documents the tensions that resulted in The Montreal Screwjob, one of the most controversial events in the history of professional wrestling, in which Vince McMahon, Shawn Micheals, and others, legitimately conspired behind the scenes to go against the script and remove Bret Hart as champion.

1998

Québec: Duplessis and After ...

Québec: Duplessis and After ... 1972

10.00

This film establishes a parallel between the 1970 electoral campaign in Québec and the 1936 campaign dominated by Maurice Duplessis. It shows the hope but also the uncertainty that existed in 1970. Had the Quiet Revolution really changed things in Québec? Was it possible that a new leader would emerge on the political scene? (NFB.ca)

1972

Foster Child

Foster Child 1987

3.00

Gil Cardinal searches for his natural family and an understanding of the circumstances that led to his becoming a foster child. An important figure in the history of Canadian Indigenous filmmaking, Gil Cardinal was born to a Métis mother but raised by a non-Indigenous foster family, and with this auto-biographical documentary he charts his efforts to find his biological mother and to understand why he was removed from her. Considered a milestone in documentary cinema, it addressed the country’s internal colonialism in a profoundly personal manner, winning a Special Jury Prize at Banff and multiple international awards.

1987

Totem: Return and Renewal

Totem: Return and Renewal 2007

8.00

In this follow-up to his 2003 film, Totem: the Return of the G'psgolox Pole, filmmaker Gil Cardinal documents the events of the final journey of the G'psgolox Pole as it returns home to Kitamaat and the Haisla people, from where it went missing in 1929.

2007

Four Faces of the Moon

Four Faces of the Moon 2016

1

Follow the animated journey of an Indigenous photographer as she travels through time. The oral and written history of her family reveals the story — we witness the impact and legacy of the railways, the slaughter of the buffalo and colonial land policies.

2016

Montreal Stories

Montreal Stories 1991

5.00

Six stories about Montreal. 1: A young housewife from Toronto samples the nightlife using basic French. 2: The tale of a painting of Montreal's first mayor, Jacques Viger. 3: During a hockey game, Madeleine tries to tell Roger she wants a divorce after forty years of marriage. 4: A visitor to a conference on pictographs arrives at the airport, where the female customs officer steals a momento from each person. 5: As she is being driven to the hospital in an ambulance after an auto accident, Sarah recalls her life. 6: At a diplomatic reception, an older woman reminisces about her grand love in Montreal.

1991

Wild Life

Wild Life 2011

5.60

An English dreamer experiences both the beauty and harshness of nature when he relocates to the Canadian prairie.

2011

Showdown at Williams Creek

Showdown at Williams Creek 1991

6.20

True story of a former British soldier on trial for murder in the 19th century Northwest.

1991

Surviving Progress

Surviving Progress 2011

7.21

Humanity’s ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse? Ronald Wright, whose best-seller, “A Short History Of Progress” inspired “Surviving Progress”, shows how past civilizations were destroyed by “progress traps”—alluring technologies and belief systems that serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. As pressure on the world’s resources accelerates and financial elites bankrupt nations, can our globally-entwined civilization escape a final, catastrophic progress trap? With potent images and illuminating insights from thinkers who have probed our genes, our brains, and our social behaviour, this requiem to progress-as-usual also poses a challenge: to prove that making apes smarter isn’t an evolutionary dead-end.

2011

The Forbidden Room

The Forbidden Room 2015

5.65

A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love.

2015

Bye Bye Blues

Bye Bye Blues 1989

5.20

During World War II, Daisy Cooper returns home to Canada with her children after her British husband, soldier Teddy, is assigned to Singapore. With the help of trombonist Max Gramley, Daisy's amateurish piano and vocal skills improve, and soon she is supporting her family with her performances. Unsure whether Teddy is alive or dead, Daisy is torn between staying faithful and giving in to her growing feelings for Max.

1989

Léolo

Léolo 1992

7.10

The story of an imaginative boy who pretends he is the child of a sperm-laden Sicilian tomato upon which his mother accidentally fell.

1992

The Second Arctic Winter Games

The Second Arctic Winter Games 1972

1

The Games included many sports seen in Olympic competition, plus others--for example, pirautaqturniq, the Inuit skill of hitting an object with a ten meter-long sled dog whip. This film captures the all-out participation in the week-long events hosted by Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon, with competitors from all over the Arctic including Alaska, and with observers from the Soviet Union.

1972

In Bed with an Elephant

In Bed with an Elephant 1987

7.00

This feature documentary provides a gripping retrospective of United States-Canada relationships through a study of successive presidents and prime ministers. Using archival film footage, it demonstrates that Canadian prime ministers, from John A. Macdonald down, all began their tenures by making overtures to their American counterparts. Attitudes and outcomes have varied widely. The almost comic antipathy between Kennedy and Diefenbaker, for instance, is as palpable here as is the folksy camaraderie of Reagan and Mulroney. Part four of Reckoning: The Political Economy of Canada series.

1987

First Stories: Two Spirited

First Stories: Two Spirited 2007

7.00

This short documentary presents the empowering story of Rodney "Geeyo" Poucette's struggle against prejudice in the Indigenous community as a two-spirited person.

2007