The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more
Skip to content Accessibility
My List
Your request could not be processed.
This film is already in your list

The Canadian Criminal Justice System (Ages 18+)

8 films
Leaving soon

Crime and justice take many forms—some seemingly cut and dry while others are more involved and complex. This selection of films examines the issues from all aspects and perspectives, ranging from that of incarcerated teenagers to a family struck by grief at the actions of one of their own. Pour visionner cette sélection en français, cliquez ici. Films in This Playlist Include Conviction nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up Waseskun Kids in Jail Life with Murder Out of Mind, Out of Sight NCR: Not Criminally Responsible Because We Are Girls

Up next: Kids in Jail
We're sorry, this content is not available in your location.
Your rental expires on
You've already purchased this film.
Download it from My purchases.
Not available
Share
The Canadian Criminal Justice System (Ages 18+)

Crime and justice take many forms—some seemingly cut and dry while others are more involved and complex. This selection of films examines the issues from all aspects and perspectives, ranging from that of incarcerated teenagers to a family struck by grief at the actions of one of their own.

Pour visionner cette sélection en français, cliquez ici.

Films in This Playlist Include
Conviction
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
Waseskun
Kids in Jail
Life with Murder
Out of Mind, Out of Sight
NCR: Not Criminally Responsible
Because We Are Girls

Playlist

  • Conviction
    Conviction
    We're sorry, this content is not available in your location.
    Nance Ackerman Ariella Pahlke , … 2019 1 h 17 min

    Conviction envisions alternatives to prison through the eyes of women behind bars and those fighting on the front lines of the decarceration movement.

  • nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
    nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
    We're sorry, this content is not available in your location.
    Tasha Hubbard 2019 1 h 38 min

    Sensitively directed by Tasha Hubbard, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up follows the family of the late Colten Boushie, a young Cree man fatally shot in a Saskatchewan farmyard, as they demand justice from Canada’s legal system.

  • Waseskun
    Waseskun
    We're sorry, this content is not available in your location.
    Steve Patry 2016 1 h 21 min

    Therapy, the Indigenous way

  • Kids in Jail
    Kids in Jail
    Larry Lynn 2013 45 min

    With unprecedented access, this documentary paints an intimate, complex portrait of kids in jail. The film raises difficult yet vital questions about at-risk youth and young offenders, and asks: Should we be doing more to help them?

  • Life with Murder
    Life with Murder
    This content is no longer available
    John Kastner 2010 1 h 34 min

    When their son is accused of murdering his sister, a mother and father face perhaps the most awful decision any parent could have to make: whether to break with their son or accept him back into the family. With astonishing footage shot over a ten-year period, from minutes after the crime was committed to the present, the film follows the family's evolving relationships.

  • Out of Mind, Out of Sight
    Out of Mind, Out of Sight
    John Kastner 2014 1 h 27 min

    This feature documentary profiles four residents of the Brockville Mental Health Centre, a forensic psychiatric hospital for people who have committed violent crimes. Four patients—two men and two women—struggle to gain control over their lives so they can return to a society that often fears and demonizes them. Shrouded in stigma, institutions like this one are places into which patients disappear from public view for years.

    Four-time Emmy winner John Kastner was granted unprecedented access to the Brockville facility for 18 months, allowing 46 patients and 75 staff to share their experiences with stunning frankness.

  • NCR: Not Criminally Responsible
    NCR: Not Criminally Responsible
    We're sorry, this content is not available in your location.
    John Kastner 2013 1 h 39 min

    Directed by John Kastner, this feature documentary about violence, mental illness, and the rights of victims tells the story of a troubled young man who stabbed a complete stranger 6 times in a crowded shopping mall while gripped by psychosis. Twelve years later, his victim, who miraculously survived, is terrified to learn that he’s out, living in the community under supervision. He’s applying for an absolute discharge, and if he succeeds, he’ll no longer be required to take the anti-psychotic drugs that control his mental illness. With unprecedented access to the patient, the victim, and the mental institution, the film looks at both sides of the debate and puts a human face on the complex ethical issues raised.

  • Because We Are Girls
    Because We Are Girls
    We're sorry, this content is not available in your location.
    Baljit Sangra 2019 1 h 22 min

    Poetically weaving past and present, Baljit Sangra's documentary explores the impact of sexual abuse on a family.