Arts

A selection of films on the arts, including biographies of artists.
  • film

    Lodela (HD)

    A tribute to the human form
    Inspired by the myths of the afterlife, this short film from Philippe Baylaucq celebrates movement, life and the human body. (Be sure to select HD quality)
  • film

    Dashan - Ambassador to China’s Funny Bone

    Made in China
    Meet Mark Rowswell, a Canadian comedian virtually unknown in his own country who has an enormous following in mainland China, where he is known as Dashan.
  • film

    I Don't Have to Work That Big

    Holy cow!
    Discover the work of Saskatchewan-based sculptor Joe Fafard, a man whose work – heavily influenced by all things bovine – has been shown throughout Canada as well as in Paris and New York.

Films

Available for download
Walking  

Walking

  • Animator Ryan Larkin uses an artist's sensibility to illustrate the way ...
  • by Ryan Larkin,
  • 1968,
  • 5 min 6 s
Available for download
RiP! A Remix Manifesto  
Available with closed captioning

RiP! A Remix Manifesto

Available for download
Ryan  
Available with closed captioning

Ryan

  • This Oscar®-winning animated short from Chris Landreth is based on the ...
  • by Chris Landreth,
  • 2004,
  • 13 min 57 s
Available for download
Lodela  

Lodela

  • Inspired by the myths of the afterlife, this allegorical dance piece illuminates ...
  • by Philippe Baylaucq,
  • 1996,
  • 26 min 24 s
Bryan Adams: Governor-General's Performing Arts Award Tribute  

Bryan Adams: Governor-General's Performing Arts Award Tribute

  • Bryan Adams is one of world’s most enduringly popular singer/songwriters ...
  • by David Battistella,
  • 2010,
  • 5 min 16 s
Available for download
Mindscape  

Mindscape

  • A particularly creative example of the pinscreen animation technique, this film is ...
  • by Jacques Drouin,
  • 1976,
  • 7 min 31 s
Available for download
Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites from the National Film Board of Canada  
Available with closed captioning

Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites from the National Film Board of Canada

  • This compilation of 9 NFB animation films is presented by Leonard Maltin ...
  • by Sally Roy,
  • 1994,
  • 94 min 55 s
Congratulations, Mr. Levy  

Congratulations, Mr. Levy

Artist in Montreal  

Artist in Montreal

  • This short film introduces us to the "automatistes," followers of an abstract ...
  • by Jean Palardy,
  • 1954,
  • 29 min 33 s
Pag  

Pag

  • All his life, Michel Pagliaro (Pag) has been on a quest for ...
  • by Éric Tessier,
  • 2008,
  • 5 min 34 s
The Whirlwind of Your Passion: A Philanthropist's Dream  
Available with closed captioning

The Whirlwind of Your Passion: A Philanthropist's Dream

Boogie-Doodle  

Boogie-Doodle

  • In this short animation film, the "boogie" is played by Albert Ammons ...
  • by Norman McLaren,
  • 1941,
  • 3 min 28 s
Available for download
Pas de deux  

Pas de deux

  • Norman McLaren's short film is a cinematic study of the choreography ...
  • by Norman McLaren,
  • 1968,
  • 13 min 22 s
Available for download
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry  

Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry

Available for download
The Stratford Adventure  

The Stratford Adventure

  • This short film depicts how a small Canadian city, bearing the name ...
  • by Morten Parker,
  • 1954,
  • 39 min 24 s
Still Waters: The Poetry of P.K. Page  
Available with closed captioning

Still Waters: The Poetry of P.K. Page

  • This short film encapsulates the life of P.K. Page, a Canadian ...
  • by Donald Winkler,
  • 1990,
  • 38 min 2 s
The Image Mill Revealed  
Available with closed captioning

The Image Mill Revealed

High Grass Circus  

High Grass Circus

Between the Laughter  

Between the Laughter

  • This feature-length documentary looks at Stephen O'Keefe, a deaf, stand-up comedian ...
  • by Barbara K. Lee,
  • 2006,
  • 43 min 17 s
Dashan - Ambassador to China's Funny Bone  
Available with closed captioning

Dashan - Ambassador to China's Funny Bone

  • This documentary introduces us to Mark Rowswell, a Canadian comedian virtually unknown ...
  • by Guy Nantel,
  • 1996,
  • 50 min
Available for download
Krzysztof Wodiczko: Projections  
Available with closed captioning

Krzysztof Wodiczko: Projections

  • This full-length documentary examines the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko, an artist who ...
  • by Derek May,
  • 1991,
  • 53 min 2 s
Pierrot in Montreal  

Pierrot in Montreal

  • In this documentary short, Canadian mime Guy Hoffman, acting as Pierrot, introduces ...
  • by Donald Ginsberg,
  • 1957,
  • 30 min
Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows  

Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows

  • Set against a background of her paintings and the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia ...
  • by Diane Beaudry,
  • 1976,
  • 10 min 1 s
Shameless: The ART of Disability  
Available with closed captioning Available with described video

Shameless: The ART of Disability

  • Art and activism are the starting point for a funny and intimate ...
  • by Bonnie Sherr Klein,
  • 2006,
  • 71 min 30 s
Available for download
From Baghdad to Peace Country  

From Baghdad to Peace Country

  • This documentary is about Canadian artist Deryk Houston, who in 1999, had ...
  • by Sherry LePage,
  • 2003,
  • 28 min 32 s
Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak  

Eskimo Artist: Kenojuak

  • This documentary shows how an Inuit artist's drawings are transferred to ...
  • by John Feeney,
  • 1963,
  • 19 min 49 s
Lismer  

Lismer

  • This short documentary looks at the work of artist Arthur Lismer, a ...
  • by Allan Wargon,
  • 1951,
  • 19 min 10 s
Available for download
Varley  

Varley

  • A portrait of Frederick Varley, Canadian painter and member of the Group ...
  • by Allan Wargon,
  • 1953,
  • 16 min 23 s
I Don't Have to Work that Big  

I Don't Have to Work that Big

  • A short documentary about sculptor Joe Fafard. Joe knows cows. He knows ...
  • by Michael McKennirey,
  • 1973,
  • 27 min 20 s
Bill Reid  

Bill Reid

  • This documentary follows Haida artist Bill Reid, from British Columbia. A jeweller ...
  • by Jack Long,
  • 1979,
  • 27 min 54 s
Available for download
Finding Farley  
Available with closed captioning

Finding Farley

  • In this full-length documentary husband-and-wife team Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison (Being ...
  • by Leanne Allison,
  • 2009,
  • 62 min 49 s
Available for download
Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen  

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen

Available for download
Flamenco at 5:15  

Flamenco at 5:15

  • This Oscar®-winning short film is an impressionistic record of a flamenco ...
  • by Cynthia Scott,
  • 1983,
  • 29 min 22 s
Available for download
Ten Million Books: An Introduction to Farley Mowat  

Ten Million Books: An Introduction to Farley Mowat

  • Farley Mowat has sold more books than any other Canadian writer – 10 ...
  • by Andy Thomson,
  • 1981,
  • 25 min 15 s
Available for download
Begone Dull Care  

Begone Dull Care

Available for download
Margaret Atwood: Once in August  

Margaret Atwood: Once in August

  • In Margaret Atwood: Once in August, filmmaker Michael Rubbo attempts to discover ...
  • by Michael Rubbo,
  • 1984,
  • 57 min 25 s