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MalarticNicolas Paquet 2024 1 h 28 minTen years after an enormous open-pit gold mine began operations in Malartic, the hoped-for economic miracle is nothing more than a mirage. Filmmaker Nicolas Paquet explores the glaring contrast between the town’s decline and the wealth of the mining company, along with the mechanisms of an opaque decision-making system in which ordinary people have little say. Part anthropological study, part investigation into the corridors of power, Malartic addresses the fundamental issue of sustainable and fair land management. -
The End of CertaintiesJean-Daniel Lafond 2020 45 minMore than a decade after the worldwide financial crisis of 2007–08, what does globalization mean today? Filmmaker-philosopher Jean-Daniel Lafond takes us behind the scenes of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, a massive annual gathering at which economists, financiers and politicians hold forth on the key issues of the day. Featuring first-hand testimonials by nearly two dozen influential men and women, The End of Certainties unfolds as a multi-voice meditation on the state of the world. This observational documentary offers a cogent assessment of globalization—and its ideals, disillusionment, fears and hopes—and the quest for a new humanism, characterized by greater inclusiveness and fairness.
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MoundsTom Jacques & Nicolas Paquet 2020 3 minIMPORTANT: For the optimal experience, please use headphones and turn up the volume.
This playful documentary by Nicolas Paquet and Tom Jacques stages the monumental dance of the peat vacuum harvester, a gigantic industrial machine conceived in Rivière-du-Loup. On top of a dramatic soundtrack composed with invented instruments, workers are busy forming large mounds, which are seen in all their aesthetic splendor through the eyes of the two creators. A nod to the NFB film De la tourbe et du restant, shot in the peat bogs of the Bas-Saint-Laurent during the 1970s.
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AttunedSteve Verreault & Sébastien Dave Tremblay 2020 4 minIMPORTANT: For the optimal experience, please use headphones and turn up the volume.
Steve Verreault and Sébastien Dave Tremblay accompany the naturalist photographer and biologist Hugues Deglaire during an observation walk in the forest. Rich in meditations on the benefits of being in nature, this contemplative and colourful short film gives voice to the whispers of the forest. Filmed in two days in the vicinity of Matane, Attuned calls on the sensorial to evoke the symbiosis between man and nature. -
BorealisKevin McMahon 2020 1 h 33 minIn his new feature documentary Borealis, acclaimed director Kevin McMahon (Waterlife) travels deep into the heart of the boreal forest to explore the chorus of life in Canada’s iconic wilderness. How do trees move, communicate and survive the destructive forces of fire, insects, and human encroachment? Borealis offers an immersive portrait of the lifecycles of the forest from the perspective of the plants and animals that live there.
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The Magnitude of All ThingsJennifer Abbott 2020 1 h 26 minWhen Jennifer Abbott lost her sister to cancer, her sorrow opened her up to the profound gravity of climate breakdown. Abbott’s new documentary The Magnitude of All Things draws intimate parallels between the experiences of grief—both personal and planetary. Stories from the frontlines of climate change merge with recollections from the filmmaker’s childhood on Ontario’s Georgian Bay. What do these stories have in common? The answer, surprisingly, is everything. For the people featured, climate change is not happening in the distant future: it is kicking down the front door. Battles waged, lamentations of loss, and raw testimony coalesce into an extraordinary tapestry, woven together with raw emotion and staggering beauty that transform darkness into light, grief into action.
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TerritoriesMoïse Marcoux-Chabot 2020 37 minAn emerging generation of farmers unites around a common cause: developing initiatives that favour sustainable and rewarding community-based agriculture. Viewer Advisory: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter.
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SeedsMoïse Marcoux-Chabot 2020 32 minNature awakens and the food self-sufficiency project takes shape. Preserving the region’s ecosystem, however, demands awareness-raising efforts.
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RootsMoïse Marcoux-Chabot 2020 33 minSpring is the season for working the land and planting. Thanks to a cooperative approach and mutual aid, everything runs more efficiently.
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EmbersMoïse Marcoux-Chabot 2020 30 minWith a little bit of resourcefulness, people can confront the greatest challenges. And when the environment is under threat, a peaceful resistance springs to life.
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HarvestsMoïse Marcoux-Chabot 2020 31 minWith the right vision in place, the land has real potential. In farm fields or in the streets, strength in numbers matters above all.
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CommunitiesMoïse Marcoux-Chabot 2020 32 minViewer Advisory: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter..
Fall has come: the harvest festival, hunting and butchering season. The village gets ready for winter. As ties between communities are strengthened, the Gaspé is changing. -
Sovereign SoilDavid Curtis 2019 1 h 31 minSet in the northern wilds surrounding the tiny sub-Arctic town of Dawson City, Yukon, Sovereign Soil is an ode to the beauty of this ferocious, remote land and the wisdom of those who’ve chosen to call it home.
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Way of the HunterRobert Moberg 2018 16 minDeep in the Great Bear Rainforest, against the backdrop of British Columbia’s breathtaking wilderness, a former hunter comes to terms with his past and looks with hope towards the future. Exploring one man’s evolving relationship with the natural world, Way of the Hunter tells the compelling story of Robert Moberg, a hunter who ultimately traded his gun for a camera.
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The Whale and the RavenMirjam Leuze 2019 1 h 41 minDirector Mirjam Leuze’s The Whale and the Raven illuminates the many issues that have drawn whale researchers, the Gitga’at First Nation, and the Government of British Columbia into a complex conflict. As the people in the Great Bear Rainforest struggle to protect their territory against the pressure and promise of the gas industry, caught in between are the countless beings that call this place home.
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MetamorphosisNova Ami & Velcrow Ripper 2018 1 h 24 minA poem for the planet, Nova Ami and Velcrow Ripper's film Metamorphosis takes the pulse of our earth and bears witness to a moment of profound change: the loss of one world, and the birth of another. Metamorphosis captures the true scale of the global environmental crisis. Forest fires consume communities, species vanish, and entire ecosystems collapse. Economic growth, tied to increased speed of resource extraction, has created a machine with the capacity to destroy all life. But this crisis is also an opportunity for transformation. Through a tidal flow of stunning images, Metamorphosis carves a path from the present to the future, and offers a bold new vision for humanity and the world.
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Hand.Line.CodJustin Simms 2016 13 minSet in the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland’s rugged Fogo Island, this short film follows a group of “people of the fish”—traditional fishers who catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. Filmmaker Justin Simms takes viewers deep inside the world of these brave fishermen. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that’s making a comeback.
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Shining Mountains - Once and Future WildGuy Clarkson 2005 47 minThis documentary from the Shining Mountains series focuses on solutions to the conservation issues facing the Rockies. There, business, government and local residents are getting political and joining forces to ensure that the grizzly, the wolf and the caribou remain at home on their range. The film highlights a coalition known as 'Y2Y' - the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative - whose aim to connect wildlife corridors through half a million square miles, with participation from industry stakeholders. From visits with old-time mountain man Andy Russell, to a Kaska-Dene youngster heading out on his first moose hunt, Clarkson takes heart in the wisdom of those who know best what it means to live in harmony with Nature.
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Shining Mountains - The Ancient OnesGuy Clarkson 2005 47 minThis documentary from the Shining Mountains series follows mountain guide, pilot and cinematographer Guy Clarkson on an ecological journey through the Rockies. Clarkson explores the area’s rock, ice, flora and fauna, which have, for eons, adjusted without complaint to every fluctuation in the natural order of things. Since the arrival of Europeans, however, the damage to ecosystems and tribes alike has approached a point of no return. From the glaciers of the Columbia Ice Fields, to the wolf packs of Yellowstone National Park, to the sacred hunting grounds of the Blackfoot nations, Clarkson finds perspective in the wisdom of the experts and elders who know this region best.
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Our Town FaroMitch Miyagawa & David Oppenheim 2004 8 minThis short film is about the small town of Faro located in the Yukon wilderness. In the 1970s, Faro was poised for success as a mining town but when metal prices plummeted and the mine shut down, the place was destined to become a ghost town. But Murray Hampton, a mining engineer who became the mayor, was determined to bring things back to life.
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Cry of the WildBill Mason 1972 1 h 28 minThis feature-length documentary from Bill Mason imparts his affection for the big northern timber wolves and the pure-white Arctic wolves. Filmed over three years in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, the High Arctic and his home near the Gatineau Hills in Quebec, Mason sets out to dispel the myth of the bloodthirsty wolf. Going beyond the wolf's natural habitat, Mason relocated three young wolves to his own property and was able to film tribal customs, mating and birth. As a result, Cry of the Wild offers viewers access to moments in wildlife never before seen on film.
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City of GoldColin Low & Wolf Koenig 1957 21 minThis classic short film from Pierre Berton depicts the Klondike gold rush at its peak, when would-be prospectors struggled through harsh conditions to reach the fabled gold fields over 3000 km north of civilization. Using a collection of still photographs, the film juxtaposes the Dawson City at the height of the gold rush with its bustling taverns and dance halls with the more tranquil Dawson City of the present.
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Hadwin's JudgementSasha Snow 2015 1 h 27 minA compelling hybrid of drama and documentary, this feature film covers the events that led up to the infamous destruction of an extraordinary 300-year-old tree held sacred by the Indigenous Haida Nation of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. Inspired by John Vaillant’s award-winning book The Golden Spruce, the film introduces us to the complex character of Grant Hadwin, a logging engineer and survivalist who lived and worked happily for many years in BCʼs ancient forests. Witnessing the devastation wrought by clear-cutting, Hadwin was finally driven to commit what some would say was an extraordinary and perverse act, one that ran contrary to all he had come to value. Interweaving speculation, myth and reality, the film charts Hadwin’s emotional crusade against the destruction of the world’s last great temperate rainforest and explores the possible motives for his unprecedented crime.
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A Step Towards the Arctic - Reflections and Visions of the NorthAnne-Marie Tougas 2012 52 minIn this feature documentary, Swiss citizen Yves Delaunay seeks to understand how the Inuit are coping with the mutation of the Arctic as it is caught in the violent sway of climate change. In Sachs Harbour, an Inuit village on the fringes of the Earth, he discovers a small community attached to its land, conscious of the importance of its traditions and culture, which struggles daily to face the challenges of modernity by way of carving out a place within it.
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The Fruit Hunters - Defenders of Diversity (Episode 2)Yung Chang 2013 43 minNarrated by Nature of Things's David Suzuki, Defenders of Diversity is the second part of a journey through the exotic, endlessly fascinating world of fruit - a story of nature, commerce, and obsession. The Fruit Hunters will change not only the way we look at what we eat but how we view our relationship to the natural world.
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The Fruit Hunters - The Evolution of Desire (Episode 1)Yung Chang 2013 43 minNarrated by Nature of Things's David Suzuki, The Evolution of Desire is the first part of a journey through the exotic, endlessly fascinating world of fruit - a story of nature, commerce, and obsession. The Fruit Hunters will change not only the way we look at what we eat but how we view our relationship to the natural world.
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The Wings of Johnny MayMarc Fafard 2013 1 h 23 minThis feature documentary shines a spotlight on Johnny May, the first Inuit bush pilot in Nunavik—and a legend among his people. During the 34,000 hours of flight time he’s logged, May has lived through extraordinary adventures and has had a unique view of the transformation of the Arctic from his perch in the sky. He has watched as the Inuit went from nomadic life to a sedentary existence, and as climate change has melted the permafrost. But one thing remains constant: May’s deep love for his wife Louisa. Since his earliest days in the air, his plane has sported the same Inuktitut message for her: "Pengo Pally", which means “I miss you.” The Wings of Johnny May is an airborne documentary that highlights a unique culture through the eyes of an exceptional man.
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Island GreenMillefiore Clarkes 2013 25 minThis short documentary takes a look at the changing face of PEI's agricultural industry. Once famous for its spuds and red mud, this tiny island province now has higher than average cancer and respiratory illness rates. Is there a link to industrialized farming? Rather than dwelling on PEI’s worrisome monocropping practices, Island Green dares to ask: What if PEI went entirely organic?
The stirring words of PEI-born poet Tanya Davis are coupled with beautiful imagery and poignant stories from the island’s small but growing community of organic farmers, reminding us that we can rob the land only so much before it robs us of the nourishment we need for life. Island Green is ultimately a story of hope and healthy promise. -
On the Ice FloeStéphane Lahoud 2012 27 minThis short documentary depicts a warm yet ephemeral community that comes together on the ice in Rimouski, Quebec—the site of an unusual encounter between ice fishermen and French artist Joseph Kieffer.
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Vanishing PointStephen A. Smith & Julia Szucs 2012 1 h 22 minThis feature documentary tells the story of 2 Inuit communities of the circumpolar north—one on Canada’s Baffin Island, the other in Northwest Greenland—that are linked by a migration led by an intrepid shaman. Navarana, an Inughuit elder and descendant of the shaman, draws inspiration and hope from the ties that still bind the 2 communities to face the consequences of rapid social and environmental change.
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Surviving ProgressMathieu Roy & Harold Crooks 2011 1 h 26 minThis feature documentary connects the financial collapse, growing inequity and the Wall Street oligarchy with future technology, sustainability, and the fate of civilization itself. Inspired by Ronald Wright's bestseller A Short History of Progress, Surviving Progress digs deep into human nature and patterns of history to challenge and redefine the very idea of progress.
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The End of TimePeter Mettler 2012 1 h 53 minVisionary filmmaker Peter Mettler takes on the elusive subject of time, and once again seeks to film the unfilmable on a journey that takes him to a particle accelerator in Switzerland and lava flows in Hawaii, disintegrating inner-city Detroit and a Hindu funeral rite near the place of Buddha’s enlightenment. Mettler dares to dream the movie of the future while also immersing us in the wonder of the everyday.
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Earth KeepersSylvie Van Brabant 2009 1 h 22 minThis feature documentary by Sylvie Van Brabant introduces us to Mikael Rioux, a young Québécois activist who founded Échofête, Quebec’s first environmental festival. Spurred by his passionate concern for the world his son will inherit, Rioux goes on a global quest to meet 7 visionaries with concrete solutions to ecological problems. Together, they offer a survival guide for our planet and a journey back to hope.
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The Hole StoryRichard Desjardins & Robert Monderie 2011 1 h 19 minIn this feature documentary, Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie continue in the same provocative vein as their earlier Forest Alert, this time turning their lens on Canada's mining industry. Using striking images, rare archival footage and interviews, The Hole Story analyzes company profits and the impact of mining on the environment and workers’ health.
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PaybackJennifer Baichwal 2011 1 h 25 minThis feature documentary based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth offers a fascinating look at debt as a mental construct and traces how it influences relationships, societies, governing structures and the fate of the planet itself. Exploring the link between debtor and creditor in a variety of contexts and places, from the mountains of northern Albania to the tomato fields of southern Florida, the film blends compelling stories of “owing” and “being owed” with the views of renowned figures like Karen Armstrong, Louise Arbour, William Rees and Raj Patel.
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The Chocolate FarmerRohan Fernando 2010 1 h 11 minThis full-length documentary takes us to an unspoiled corner of southern Belize, where cacao farmer and father Eladio Pop manually works his plantation in the tradition of his Mayan ancestors: as a steward of the land. The film captures a year in the life of the Pop family as they struggle to preserve their values in a world that is dramatically changing around them. A lament for cultures lost, The Chocolate Farmer challenges our deeply held assumptions of progress.
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WaterlifeKevin McMahon 2009 1 h 49 minWaterlife is a documentary film about the Great Lakes that follows the flow of the lakes' water from the Nipigon River to the Atlantic Ocean. The film's goal is to take viewers on a tour of an incredibly beautiful ecosystem that is facing complex challenges.
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Elisha and the Cacao TreesRohan Fernando 2010 17 minThis charming short documentary takes us on a trip to Belize, where we meet 13-year-old Elisha, the daughter of a cacao farmer. What links a village in Belize and millions of North American kids? Chocolate! We learn about Elisha's daily life and her dreams as she and her father show how cacao is grown, harvested and turned into chocolate.
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This LandDianne Whelan 2009 35 minThis short documentary recounts a 2000-km expedition undertaken by 7 rangers (both Inuit and non-Native) and a female filmmaker to raise a flag on the northernmost tip of Canadian soil, 412 km from the North Pole. With a mesmerizing soundtrack by Nunavut-born singer Tanya Tagaq and spectacular footage of the Arctic landscape, This Land captures the epic adventure with raw immediacy.
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The LumberfrosStéphanie Lanthier 2010 1 h 11 minIn Abitibi, hundreds of kilometres from the city, thousands of workers go North, as did Jos Montferrand and François Paradis. Working as brush cutters, these 21st-century lumberjacks discover Quebec's boreal forest. Far from their families, they spend 5 or 6 months a year in logging camps that mirror a new Quebec, those of French-Canadian descent and neo-Quebecers from Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. All have come to earn a living in the forest. Filmmaker Stéphanie Lanthier invites us to spend an entire season inside this northern micro society. Using a direct cinema technique in the style of Pierre Perrault, she documents the lives of the brush cutters.
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Hope BuildersFernand Dansereau 2010 1 h 29 minThis feature documentary zooms in on a Grade 6 class in Quebec where a teacher is implementing an experimental teaching method aimed at preparing children to take up environmental challenges. Over the course of a year, Dominique Leduc’s students will learn to identify, analyze and resolve a problem that exists in their world. They also learn about the uncertainty faced by those who want change.
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Finding FarleyLeanne Allison 2009 1 h 2 minIn this feature documentary, husband-and-wife team Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison (Being Caribou), along with their 2-year-old son and dog, retrace the literary footsteps of Canadian writer Farley Mowat. They canoe east from Calgary towards the Prairies (the geography of Farley's Born Naked and Owls in the Family) and then traverse the same paths that Mowat took more than 60 years earlier in Never Cry Wolf and People of the Deer. Their epic 5,000 km journey—trekking, sailing, portaging and paddling—ends in the Maritimes, at Mowat's Nova Scotia summer home.
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An Ecology of HopeFernand Dansereau 2001 1 h 24 minA documentary portrait of ecologist Pierre Dansereau, the film takes us from Baffin Island to New York City, from the Gaspé Peninsula to Brazil. At each stop on this world tour, we hear his story and witness landscapes of breathtaking beauty.
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DirtMeghna Haldar 2008 1 h 21 minThis feature documentary is an exploration of the concept of dirt and impurity. From the slums of Kolkata to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to a barbeque joint in Central Texas, Dirt digs deep into the webs of meaning and feeling attached to that deceptively simple 4-letter word. An odyssey into all things unclean, the film features animation to make Hieronymus Bosch blush and music from Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
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Being CaribouLeanne Allison & Diana Wilson 2004 1 h 12 minIn this feature-length documentary, husband and wife team Karsten Heuer (wildlife biologist) and Leanne Allison (environmentalist) follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 1500 km of Arctic tundra. In following the herd's migration, the couple hopes to raise awareness of the threats to the caribou's survival. Along the way they brave Arctic weather, icy rivers, hordes of mosquitoes and a very hungry grizzly bear. Dramatic footage and video diaries combine to provide an intimate perspective of an epic expedition.
