Skip to content
Accessibility
Adolescent Development (60)
-
Available in English Options
-
Alphée of the StarsHugo Latulippe 2012 1 h 22 minAlphée has a rare genetic disorder that hampers her development. Yet she continues to defy medical expectations. In a moving declaration of love for his daughter, filmmaker Hugo Latulippe and his family steal away for a year, focusing on his daughter's learning, so that she can integrate into a regular classroom when they get home. -
Alden Nowlan: An IntroductionJon Pedersen 1984 28 minThis short documentary introduces us to Alden Nowlan, winner of Canada’s 1967 Governor General’s Award for poetry. His empathy for ordinary people was evident in his work as a poet, journalist, short-story writer, novelist and playwright. Nowlan’s writing is admired far beyond his native Maritimes, but he never forgot his roots, which he drew on for inspiration. This film, shot just before his death in 1983, records him reminiscing and reading from his work.
-
Alphée of the Stars (Short Version)Hugo Latulippe 2013 52 minAlphée has a rare genetic disorder that hampers her development. Yet she continues to defy medical expectations. When her parents intuitively reject the idea of placing her in a specialized classroom, they move their family to Europe for a year. Here, her father – filmmaker Hugo Latulippe – focuses on his fairy-like daughter's learning, in hopes of eventually integrating her into a regular classroom. This film is a moving declaration of love from a father to his daughter. It is also the story of a gamble: stealing away for a year in order to try and change the course of events. An intimate and revealing portrait, Alphée of the Stars puts the spotlight on a most unusual girl. With patience and tenderness, Latulippe – who believes in schools that embrace the diversity of humanity and do not discriminate – challenges our assumptions and reveals an unknown world that may have escaped us in our daily rush.
-
Bing Bang BoomJoan Henson 1969 24 minThis short 1969 documentary follows acclaimed innovator and composer R. Murray Schafer as he visits a Grade 7 music classroom to teach students that all the sounds of life are a part of music. Schafer’s provocations help these curious learners discover music without instruments or painfully learned notes and scales. Schafer encourages the students to listen to every sound around them and then transform what they hear—voices, steps, breath—into music. The fun-filled result is a convincing illustration for educators: children learn best when it’s from the inside out.
-
BeautyChristina Willings 2018 23 minBeauty explores the lives of five gender-creative kids, each uniquely engaged in shaping their own sense of what it means to be fully human. Whether it’s dealing with bullies, explaining themselves to their parents, or navigating the uncharted waters of relationships, Bex, Lili, Fox, Tru and Milo talk about their experiences and struggle to live in authenticity.
-
Becoming 13Victoria King 2006 47 minThis smart documentary explores the intimidating terrain of girlhood by following three 12-year-olds over the period of one year. As these girls move from childhood to maturity, it's clear that peer pressure is an important influence, but as the films shows, the greatest influence in a young girl's life is family.
Filmmaker Victoria King's creative approach, including the use of "diary-cam" footage, not only follows the girls but allows them to question the world in their own voices. Ultimately, the film reveals the complexities of being 12, both satisfying our curiosity and inviting us to ask, What happens next? -
The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to KaladarPeter Pearson 1968 49 minThe setting for this drama is a logging community, focusing on a man who chooses the unfettered life and uncertain income of an itinerant bush worker, even though it means that his family lives poorly as a result. The film is a study of the effects on family life of isolation and deprivation. Features a wonderful performance from a young Margot Kidder.
-
Beyond the Blues: Child and Youth DepressionMaureen Palmer 2004 56 minStatistics reveal that depression in children and youth is on the rise. In fact, it has increased by one-third in the past 30 years. Untreated depression costs a teenager in many ways: lost eductional opportunities, lost social opportunities and lost time.
Through the personal stories of three young people, this compelling documentary traces the journey of depression, from early signs and symptoms, to assessment, diagnosis and treatment. The documentary also helps shatter some stereotypes.
This powerful 3-part series on child and youth mental health sheds light on the current situation and offers practical tools to understanding the problems and knowing where to find solutions. Depressed kids don't just have a bad attitude--they have an illness. And the illness is treatable.
The two other titles in the series are Fighting their Fears: Child and Youth Anxiety and A Map of the Mind Fields: Managing Adolescent Psychosis. -
A Better ManAttiya Khan & Lawrence Jackman 2017 1 h 17 minIlluminating a new paradigm for domestic-violence prevention, A Better Man offers a fresh and nuanced look at the healing and revelation that can happen for everyone involved when men take responsibility for their abuse. It also empowers audience members to play new roles in challenging domestic violence, whether it’s in their own relationships or as part of a broader movement for social change.
-
The EggJean-François Pouliot & Robert Bélisle 1979 1 minIn this animated short from the Canada Vignette series, learn how societies in evolution are often in danger of self-destruction.
-
Doodle FilmDonald Winkler 1970 10 minThis short mockumentary explores the life of chronic doodler David Watts. Taking himself very seriously, the film’s narrator traces the history of Watts’ problem back to a second grade notebook cover and follows it through to its natural end – a man who covers every available surface with doodling… including his wife.
-
Ex-ChildJacques Drouin 1994 4 minThis short animation tells the story of a young boy and his father, both of whom are enlisted to fight in the war. The boy's pride soon turns to fear as the bullets whistle overhead. His father takes his place and is immediately shot and killed. Horrified, the boy understands that war is not a game. Based on article 38 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates the right of children under the age of 15 not to be recruited into the armed forces.
-
Exiles in LotuslandIlan Saragosti 2005 1 h 10 minThis feature documentary tells the story of 2 teens who head out west in search of self. Like a quarter of Vancouver’s itinerant youth population, Mélo and Ti-criss made the trip from Quebec, hopeful for a better life. Still minors, the pair seeks escape and adventure, perhaps the meaning of life. From east to west, from the streets to a hotel, with a welcome interlude in the country, they seek their place in society.
-
The End of SummerMichel Brault 1964 27 minFilmed at a summer cottage in the Laurentians north of Montreal, this film penetrates briefly the charmed world of the adolescent. Watching and listening, you sense the bittersweet mood of childhood's end, the poignant awareness that nothing will ever be the same after this summer at the lake. With English subtitles.
-
FlutterHowie Shia 2006 6 minIn this short animation, a young boy takes a flying leap away from normal, waves goodbye to his classmates, and disappears into the cityscape and beyond. At the same time, a young girl is inspired to reinvent her space with art.
-
Fighting Their Fears: Child and Youth AnxietyMelanie Wood 2004 56 minAnxiety motivates us to get things done, but for some people, anxiety is not a driver. For many children, anxiety disrupts everyday life, interfering with their ability to make friends or go to school.
Through interviews with experts and three young people, this compelling documentary outlines the causes, symptoms and treatments for anxiety disorders and emphasizes the importance of early identification and intervention. In all of these stories there is hope.
This powerful 3-part series on child and youth mental health sheds light on the current situation and offers practical tools to understanding the problems and finding solutions. It captures real family stories, spotlighting the challenges and breakthroughs.
The two other titles in the series are Beyond the Blues: Child and Youth Depression and A Map of the Mind Fields: Managing Adolescent Psychosis. -
The Formation of CloudsMarie-Hélène Turcotte 2010 10 minChildhood is a private, fragile terrain in which the marks of our explorations are inscribed. A delicate, sensitive evocation of burgeoning desire, The Formation of Clouds follows the steps of a young girl in the midst of transformation, clearly delineating that odd moment when one is no longer a child, exactly, but not yet an adult either. Using the simplicity of pen and ink drawings with graceful superimposition effects on glossy paper, Marie-Hélène Turcotte succeeds in capturing all the nuances of this transitional stage, in which the ingenuous wish to remain a child accompanies the yearning for self-discovery. With grace and sensitivity, this first short film becomes a visual poem that plays out at the frontier between reality and imagination. Film without words.
-
GuidelinesJean-François Caissy 2014 1 h 15 minThis feature documentary explores the world of adolescence in rural teenagers' interactions with various authority figures. Outside the classroom, though, the teens enjoy more control of their world; in this playground, they can test the limits of their temporary freedom. A work of patient observation relying mostly on uninterrupted long takes,Guidelines emphasizes the contrast between adult and adolescent, between the regulated classroom and the great outdoors, gradually revealing the interior drama of adolescence with its shifts from fragility to reckless abandon.
-
Geneviève1965 28 minTwo teenage girls go to winter carnival in Quebec City for the first time. Their ambiguous, tentative relation with a young boy brings both of them the sweet intensity and disillusionment of first love.
This short is one of four film sketches that comprise the feature La Fleur de l'âge. A co-production initiated by the NFB, it also included Fiametta by Gian Vittorio Baldi (Italy, 1965), Marie-France et Véronique by Jean Rouch (France, 1965) and Ako by Hiroshi Teshigara (Japan, 1965). In French with English subtitles. -
Growing Up Canadian: WorkSusan Terrill 2003 46 minFrom working six days a week in a factory to serving up sundaes at the Dairy Queen on weekends, Canadian children have done it all. In the first half of the century many families couldn't get by without financial help from their kids. The nation counted on its young when it came to wartime; from joining up to fight to tucking a love note in a scarf knit for an unknown soldier, witnesses recall their contributions.
Recollections of work include cheapskate bosses, the decision to quit and the experience of getting fired. It was tough working in the coal mines and out in the fishing dories, but even babysitters join in the complaints about lousy conditions and low pay!
Work is one of a 6-part series entitled Growing Up Canadian. These documentaries explore the myths and realities of Canadian childhood through family life, schooling, work, play, health and the media. The series marks the contribution of childhood and youth experience in defining Canada as it grew into full nationhood in the 20th century. -
Growing Up Canadian: PlaySusan Terrill 2003 46 minCanada's biggest playground, winter, leads the way as we look at a century of play for Canadian kids. In the beginning you made your own gear and toys, but some store-bought things were irresistible. What Canadian girl, in her time, wouldn't want an Eaton's Beauty doll or a Barbara Ann Scott doll? And what boy, swept up in a cowboy craze, wouldn't die to have a Gene Autry gun or a Lash LaRue whip?
Throughout the century, adults helped to organize clubs, camps and playgrounds--often with the intent of steering children away from trouble. In the end, getting away from adults and crossing forbidden borders have always been a part of the fun.
Play is one of a 6-part series entitled Growing Up Canadian. These documentaries explore the myths and realities of Canadian childhood through family life, schooling, work, play, health and the media. The series marks the contribution of childhood and youth experience in defining Canada as it grew into full nationhood in the 20th century. -
Growing Up Canadian: SchoolSheila Petzold 2003 46 minGrowing up has become marked in school years but at the beginning of the 20th century most children attended primary school only. This bygone era is wonderfully evoked by still photos and archival film showing what children studied and where, from the one-room schoolhouse to a railway car.
School in the 1940s and '50s is brought to life through interviews with adults who remember the first day at kindergarten, feared and loved teachers and encounters with the strap. The '60s and '70s brought television into the classroom and the concept of the open school, which changed the actual building.
School is one of a 6-part series entitled Growing Up Canadian. These documentaries explore the myths and realities of Canadian childhood through family life, schooling, work, play, health and the media. The series marks the contribution of childhood and youth experience in defining Canada as it grew into full nationhood in the 20th century. -
Happiness Is Loving Your TeacherJohn N. Smith 1977 27 minThis short dramatic film describes the harrowing first assignment of a physically disabled substitute teacher confronted with a classroom full of unruly pupils. Tony is particularly hostile, and is given a detention that increases her hostility. One day at home, the teacher receives a call of apology from Tony, asking him when he will be returning to the school.
-
In Other WordsJan Padgett 2001 27 minThis short documentary explores homophobic language and its consequences among teenagers. Name-calling and cruel language hurt, say the teens who speak in this video. Homophobic language is a common verbal put-down among young people, but many adults feel uncomfortable responding. This video is a tool for teachers, counsellors and youth groups to explore the origins of the words, how young people feel about them and how to overcome the pain they cause.
-
If I Was God...Cordell Barker 2015 8 minIn this short animated film, a Grade 7 boy’s mind starts to wander while dissecting a frog in Biology class. What would you do if you suddenly found yourself charged with God-like powers? Would you use them for good? For bad? Perhaps a little of both? The possibilities seem endless. Oh to have the power to toy with life and death, to create monsters who can punish those who torment him daily, or better yet, to create that one perfect day with Lily, the love of his 12-year-old life!
-
Invisible CityHubert Davis 2009 1 h 15 minInvisible City is a moving story of two boys from Regent Park crossing into adulthood – their mothers and mentors rooting for them to succeed; their environment and social pressures tempting them to make poor choices. Turning his camera on the often ignored inner city, Academy-award nominated director Hubert Davis sensitively depicts the disconnection of urban poverty and race from the mainstream.
-
JuniorIsabelle Lavigne & Stéphane Thibault 2008 1 h 36 minThis full-length documentary offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at our national sport, hockey. Taking in an entire season of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, this film reveals the daily lives of players and managers on this Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team.
Admired and treated like professionals, junior hockey players are teenagers absorbed by their future. Trainers, shareholders, agents, scouts and parents: all eyes are fixed on these elite young players, even though only a tiny number of them will succeed in playing at the highest level. -
Jules' Impossible SummerMarie-Julie Dallaire 2020 13 minShot in Montreal over a four-month period, from May to September 2020, Jules’ Impossible Summer charts the evolving relationship between the filmmaker and her 19-year-old son through 15 redundant conversations about the importance—or the impossibility, depending on the point of view—of following the health restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
-
Kids in JailLarry Lynn 2013 45 minWith 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?
