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Parenting (35)

  1. Available in English Options
5 years old
18 years old
  • An Artist
    An Artist
    Michèle Cournoyer 1994 5 min
    In this short animation, a girl is so carried away by her love of music that she forgets about her household chores. Her father tells her to finish the dishes. Instead of washing them, she turns them into musical instruments, and he finally recognizes her talent. Based on Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to develop their talents and abilities to their fullest potential.
  • Angotee: Story of an Eskimo Boy
    Angotee: Story of an Eskimo Boy
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    Douglas Wilkinson 1953 31 min
    A short film featuring an Inuk man from the Eastern Arctic. Made in 1953, it recounts his life from birth to maturity and marriage. Screened widely in Canadian schools, the film is now dated but accurately depicts aspects of Inuit culture of the time.

  • Autism: The Road Back
    Autism: The Road Back
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    Sharon Bartlett  &  Maria LeRose 2005 54 min
    Autism: The Road Back charts the personal journey of three families with children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It talks to parents, service providers, and experts in the field about assessment, diagnoses, and options available for treatment, and provides guidance for families trying to navigate their way through the challenges of ASD in the first six years of their child's life.
  • The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar
    The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar
    Peter Pearson 1968 49 min
    The 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.
  • Becoming 13
    Becoming 13
    Victoria King 2006 47 min
    This 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?
  • Beyond Memory: A Documentary About Dementia
    Beyond Memory: A Documentary About Dementia
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    Sharon Bartlett  &  Maria LeRose 2006 1 h 15 min
    The new documentary Beyond Memory is an intimate revelation of what it's like to live with dementia, or to love someone with this disease.

    The five individuals and families profiled in the film offer an essential lesson about living each day. Elaine, diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at just 47, works to keep her brain active, and becomes the first known Canadian with Alzheimer's to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. A 1950s rhythm & blues star, 82-year-old Milton can't remember the words to songs but can still show off the dance moves that first attracted his wife, Ruby. George gave up his job and moved home when his mother's memory failed. He patiently reminds her of all the important details in her life, save one: Alberta's forgotten she has Alzheimer's. Gord, a former Revelstoke maintenance supervisor for CP Rail, works closely with his wife, Claudia, to make plans for his future. And, suffering from a rare and fast-moving form of dementia, 57-year-old Dede has pretty much had her memory wiped clean. Yet, when her husband, Gerry, enters the room, she smiles. Her connection to him has survived her memory.
  • The Deserter
    The Deserter
    Julian Biggs 1956 30 min
    This short drama highlights the work of the Family Welfare Service in its compassionate tale of a husband who abandons his wife and children. Part of the Perspective series.
  • Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety
    Every Dog's Guide to Complete Home Safety
    Les Drew 1986 10 min
    This hilarious short animation offers over 40 safety tips for homes with infants and young children. The film's hero is a very earnest, somewhat pompous, but endearing dog called Wally. A "professional" in home safety, Wally is assigned to a house with an infant whose parents have little safety consciousness. Accidents and near-accidents succeed each other with lightning speed, constantly putting Wally to the test.
  • F.A.S.: When the Children Grow Up
    F.A.S.: When the Children Grow Up
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    Sharon Bartlett  &  Maria LeRose 2002 40 min
    When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, she can do irreparable harm to her baby. This program explores the realities of living with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (F.A.S.) and partial F.A.S., called Fetal Alcohol Effects (F.A.E.), the leading causes of birth defects. The effects associated with F.A.S. continue even when children become adults.

    This documentary tells the stories of three adults living with F.A.S., along with commentary from experts in the field.
  • Family Album Number One
    Family Album Number One
    Jim Verburg 2009 1 min
    In this animated short, a layered narrative exploring memory and family history is constructed using a collage of family photos, photocopies and personal audio recordings. The film explores the fragility of personal memory, and photos as physical tokens of that memory.

    Produced as part of the 5th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship.
  • Feeling Yes, Feeling No
    Feeling Yes, Feeling No
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    Moira Simpson 1984 43 min
    Feeling Yes, Feeling No is a sexual-assault prevention program for young children. The purpose is to give children the skills to protect themselves from sexual assault--from strangers, from family members, from other trusted persons. Part 1 teaches children basic skills that build self-worth, self-confidence and good judgment. Part 2 reinforces the understanding of 'Yes' feelings and 'No' feelings and introduces skills to keep children assess potentially dangerous situations involving strangers. Part 3 introduces the issue of sexual assault by a trusted adult.
  • Freaks of Nurture
    Freaks of Nurture
    Alexandra Lemay 2018 6 min
    Freaks of Nurture is an animated short about a neurotic mother-daughter relationship inspired by the filmmaker’s own unorthodox upbringing with her single-parent mom, who is also a foster parent and dog breeder. Self-deprecating and bursting with energy, the film reveals that no matter how grown-up we think we are, we never quite stop craving the love and support of a parent.
  • Guidelines
    Guidelines
    Jean-François Caissy 2014 1 h 15 min
    This 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.
  • Growing Up Canadian: Family
    Growing Up Canadian: Family
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    Susan Terrill 2003 46 min
    Canadians of all ages tell stories of growing up with mom, dad, siblings and even the family pet. From making underwear out of flour sacks to scrounging for coal, most Canadian families were poor for the first half of the 20th century. Set against the backdrop of a country moving from rural dominion to urban nation, this episode follows changes in family homes, cars and neighbourhoods.

    Throughout the episode, stories of family rituals, rules and discipline highlight dramatic cultural changes in the century.

    Family 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.
  • The Hungry Squid
    The Hungry Squid
    John Weldon 2002 14 min
    In this animated short, Oscar® winner John Weldon spins a tall tale about young Dorothy and her myriad troubles: absentee parents, bad hair and a menagerie that devours her homework. But when her pet squid rampages through town and people finally realize that the homework-eating creatures aren't a figment of her imagination, Dorothy realizes that it's time to get the situation under control.
  • It's a Girl's World
    It's a Girl's World
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    Lynn Glazier 2004 52 min
    It's a Girl's World takes us inside the tumultuous relationships of a clique of popular 10-year-old girls. Playground bullying captured on camera shows a disturbing picture of how these girls use their closest friendships to hurt each other--with shunning, whispering and mean looks--to win social power in the group. Meanwhile, their parents struggle through denial and disbelief as they become aware of the serious consequences of this behaviour. By comparison, the tragic story of a 14-year-old girl is a stark reminder that social bullying can spiral out of control. Believing she had no other choice, Dawn-Marie Wesley killed herself after enduring months of rumours and verbal threats. This documentary shatters the myth that social bullying among girls is an acceptable part of growing up.

    This classroom version of It's a Girl's World is a stand-alone series of six modules with helpful on-screen text guides to assist with discussion and activities. It is intended to promote a classroom discussion around the nature of social conflict in friendships, especially among girls. Each 5-10 minute module explores a different facet of social bullying ranging from what the behaviour looks like, to the role of power and control, to the consequences for the bully, the victim and the bystander.
  • Jules' Impossible Summer
    Jules' Impossible Summer
    Marie-Julie Dallaire 2020 13 min
    Shot 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.
  • Luckily I Need Little Sleep
    Luckily I Need Little Sleep
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    Kathleen Shannon 1974 7 min
    Kathy worked as a nurse in Greece and then came to Canada. She and her family live in northern Alberta, where they are developing a farm. Kathy works outside the home as a nurse, sews for the children, maintains the house, and helps with the farm work.
  • Mind Me Good Now!
    Mind Me Good Now!
    Chris Cormier  &  Derek Cummings 2005 8 min
    In this animated short 2 children, Tina and Dalby, disobey their mama with almost tragic consequences. Having strayed away from home, they run afoul of a local "cocoya," a wicked spirit that loves to eat little boys! But through Tina's resourcefulness and cunning, the cocoya is vanquished and the children run back to mama's forgiving arms.

    Part of the Talespinners collection, which uses vibrant animation to bring popular children’s stories from a wide range of cultural communities to the screen.
  • Multiple Choices - The Agony and the Ecstasy
    Multiple Choices - The Agony and the Ecstasy
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    Alison Burns 1995 13 min
    Raising kids in this society is an often daunting task. Each of us has different reasons about why we choose--or don't choose--to be parents. Participants discuss their parent-child relationships, single parenting by choice, homosexual or lesbian parents, and teenage parenting.
  • Nightmare at School
    Nightmare at School
    Catherine Arcand 2007 8 min
    Who hasn't felt apprehensive at the thought of starting high school? Playing on imagination and humour, this short film offers viewers a thought-provoking piece dealing with the transition that young people between the ages of 10 and 13 experience. Inspired by the work of Escher and Magritte, Catherine Arcand has created a graphically rich film through optical illusions and trompe-l'oeil effects. Her style aptly illustrates the theme of perceptions and is perfectly suited to conveying the dream world into which the film takes us. A film without words.
  • Not So Different
    Not So Different
    Don Arioli 1985 6 min
    A fable set in the Land of Same, where the law of the land is SAMENESS. Everyone has to behave the same, wear the same clothes, live in the same houses. Everything runs smoothly until some Different people arrive.
  • Nounours
    Nounours
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    Lou Rigoudy 2021 2 min
    A story of a girl and her teddy bear as she grows up and they grow apart.
  • Overdose
    Overdose
    Claude Cloutier 1994 5 min
    In this short animation, we meet a young boy leads such a regimented life that he has no more time just to be a kid. Between school, tennis lessons, swimming lessons, art classes, homework and piano practice, he can barely get any rest. Inspired by Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this short animated film by Claude Cloutier pleads for children’s right to rest and leisure.
  • Origins of Human Aggression: The Other Story
    Origins of Human Aggression: The Other Story
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    Jean-Pierre Maher 2005 50 min
    Is human aggression a result of nature or nurture? Interviews with researchers from various fields--including a Nobel prize winner--shed light on the question.

    Startling footage of children acting out their aggressive impulses adds to this compelling documentary that examines the complex factors that affect the socialization of aggressive behaviour among humans.

    Biological, environmental and psychological components are addressed, and guidelines for the prevention of human violence are also provided.
  • Strangers at the Door
    Strangers at the Door
    John Howe 1977 28 min
    This drama tells the harrowing story of an immigrant family in the New World. On arrival in Canada, their hopes for a better life were dashed when immigration officials refused to grant entry to their daughter. During a routine medical examination it was found that Kasia had contracted an infectious eye disease. She is separated from her family and sent back to Europe alone.
  • Standing Alone
    Standing Alone
    Colin Low 1982 57 min
    Pete Standing Alone of the Kainai Nation was more at home in the White man's culture than his own as a young man. However, confronted with the realization that his children knew very little about their origins, he became determined to pass down to them the customs and traditions of his ancestors. This hour-long film is the powerful biographical study of a twenty-five-year span in Pete's life, from his early days as an oil-rig roughneck, rodeo rider and cowboy, to the present as an Indigenous man concerned with preserving his Nation's spiritual heritage in the face of an energy-oriented industrial age.
  • The Sound Collector
    The Sound Collector
    Lynn Smith 1982 11 min
    This animated short features Leonard, a 6-year-old boy with the unusual hobby of collecting sounds. Transforming household noises around him into exciting fantasies, he creates an adventure story for his older brother in which knights chase away monsters and perform other daring deeds.
  • Shattered Dreams
    Shattered Dreams
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    Wendy Hill-Tout 1989 27 min
    Shattered Dreams is a powerful and emotional exploration of the experiences of a family forced to deal with the tragedy of schizophrenia in a loved one; not once, but twice. The Martini family of Calgary lived through the turmoil of losing their youngest son Ben to schizophrenia and eventually suicide, only to discover six years later that a second son, Liv, has developed the disease. Clem Martini, a third brother, narrates the film, sharing with us his family's journey through a world of confusion, guilt, loss and ultimately, hope. (Broadcast on CBC's Man Alive series.)
  • Strange Invaders
    Strange Invaders
    Cordell Barker 2001 8 min
    This film is a must-see film for parents of young children and a cautionary tale for those planning a family. Part science-fiction, part autobiography, Strange Invaders is another irrepressible comedy from the director of the much-loved classic