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Studio D: The Women’s Film Studio

The NFB created Studio D in 1974, and over its two decades of existence, films made by the studio won more than 130 awards (including three Oscars®) across all five continents. We pay tribute to the visionary directors of the world’s first publicly funded feminist filmmaking studio with this selection of 90 Studio D films, all of which were produced by women.

Kathleen Shannon: On Film, Feminism & Other Dreams
Gerry Rogers 1997 49 min
With quiet intelligence and wry humour, retired documentary filmmaker Kathleen Shannon takes us through the arc of her life and career. Beginning with childhood, moving through her formative years, to her overwhelming desire to give women a chance to tell their stories, this film paints a vibrant portrait of one woman who blazed the way. It's a story of struggle, persistence, and success… and of course, of the NFB's Studio D.
Under the Willow Tree: Pioneer Chinese Women in Canada
Dora Nipp 1997 51 min
A rich and little-known part of Canadian history unfolds through the stories of the first Chinese women to come to Canada and of subsequent generations of Chinese Canadian women. It is an amazing tale of courageous women who left behind their families, knowing they would never see them again and of girls who were shipped off to the New World to marry men they had never met. These are the women who fought against the many forms of racism they faced in Canada while, at the same time, challenging sexism within their own communities. By passing on language, culture, and values to their children, these women defined what it means to be Chinese Canadian. Beautiful old photographs from family albums, the recollections of seven women who grew up in Canada in the first half of the 20th century, and the memories of narrator and director, Dora Nipp, whose grandfather came to Canada in 1881 to build the railway, create a remarkable story of stunning impact.
Taking Charge
Claudette Jaiko 1996 25 min
Taking Charge shows teens taking the initiative to overcome the fears and vulnerabilities of growing up in an increasingly violent and rapidly changing society. Through role-playing, theatre groups, peer discussion groups and anti-violence collectives these young activists have "taken charge," educating themselves and their peers towards a deeper understanding of the effects of violence rooted in sexism, racism and homophobia.

We see through their various initiatives, as well as personal testimonies, that teens speaking and organizing against violence sends a positive message to everyone. Taking Charge encourages the viewer to re-examine definitions of violence, and shows how to effect change.

The defiant lyrics of the theme song match the bold and creative energy alive in these teens. Witty animation sequences add a layer of visual playfulness, but the message remains: Do something before it is too late!
Listening for Something... Adrienne Rich and Dionne Brand in Conversation
Dionne Brand 1996 55 min
The nation, the country, where do we belong in it? In this film through conversation and poetry two poets meet for the telling and the listening. Adrienne Rich is a distinguished American feminist poet, and author of numerous books of prose, poetry, essays and speeches. Dionne Brand is a Trinidadian-Canadian femininst poet, writer and filmmaker. Incisive and inquisitive, the two women meet to discuss the world as they each see it. Claiming any subject, they talk about events as they see them, analytic, contemplative, honest and open ended. Topics include political issues, feminism, racism and lesbianism, among others. The viewer is invited into the exchange by the familiar images of two women talking intimately around a kitchen table, in corridors, or casually outdoors in the United States, Tobago and Canada. Shot in black and white and in colour, the conversation takes us over the territories of their poetry.
Motherland: Tales of Wonder
Helene Klodawsky 1994 1 h 29 min
This feature documentary casts a curious and critical eye at North American discourses about motherhood since the mid-20th century. Through conversations with seven mothers, a fascinating selection of archival footage and stills from the 1950s, as well as some very candid and funny home movies, this film offers new ways of thinking about what it means to be a good mom.
Twenty Years of Feminist Filmmaking
Cheryl Sim & Janice Brown 1994 5 min
A clip montage for presentation at the National Action Committee on the Status of Women to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Studio D and the National Action Committee.
Hands of History
Loretta Todd 1994 51 min
In this acclaimed 1994 documentary, Loretta Todd, a leading figure in Indigenous cinema in Canada, profiles four contemporary female artists—Doreen Jensen, Rena Point Bolton, Jane Ash Poitras and Joane Cardinal-Schubert—who seek to find a continuum from traditional to contemporary forms of expression. Each artist reveals her practice and journey in her own words. The film is a moving testimony to the vital role Indigenous women play in nurturing Indigenous cultures.
Long Time Comin'
Dionne Brand 1993 52 min
There is a cultural revolution going on in Canada and Faith Nolan and Grace Channer are on the leading edge. These two African-Canadian lesbian artists give back to art its most urgent meanings--commitment and passion. Grace Channer's large and sensuous canvasses and musician Faith Nolan's gritty and joyous blues propel this documentary into the spheres of poetry and dance. Long Time Comin' captures their work, their urgency, and their friendship in intimate conversations with both artists.
Return Home
Michelle Wong 1992 29 min
First-generation Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Michelle Wong returns to her birthplace, St. Paul, Alberta, to get reacquainted with her aging grandparents. Her visit becomes an emotional journey into the past and into herself as she documents their stories, their lives. Return Home touchingly explores intergenerational relations while capturing the spirit and experiences of early Chinese-Canadian immigrants and their role in Canadian history. Also available in a Chinese version.
Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives
Aerlyn Weissman & Lynne Fernie 1992 1 h 24 min
This film contains scenes of nudity and/or sexuality. Viewer discretion is advised.

This feature documentary delves into the rich history of Canadian queer women’s experiences in the mid-20th century. Compelling, often hilarious and always rebellious, the women interviewed in this film recount stories about their search for the places where openly gay women gathered in urban centres. Contemporary interviews, archival footage, and a stylized fictional narrative based on the pulp novels of the 1950s are woven throughout this simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and empowering film. Forbidden Love brings an important and empowering history of lesbian sexuality in Canada out of the closet.
Toward Intimacy
Debbie McGee 1992 1 h 1 min
This feature documentary follows a number of women with disabilities as they affirm their right to seek, develop and sustain intimate relationships with the partners of their choice. In this moving one-hour film, four disabled women from across Canada share their personal experiences, with particular emphasis on sexuality, self-esteem, stereotyping, and parenting.
The Glass Ceiling
Sophie Bissonnette 1992 27 min
This short documentary presents 5 women from a variety of backgrounds who use strategy, humour and determination to seek to attain equality in the workplace. Whether in the public service or on the shop floor, discrimination against women is taking on increasingly subtle forms, which makes it even more difficult to tackle and eliminate. Various obstacles combine to hold back the advancement of women in many sectors, particularly in middle management positions, where we are seeing the emergence of a new “female ghetto.”
Sisters in the Struggle
Dionne Brand & Ginny Stikeman 1991 49 min
This documentary features Black women active in politics as well as community, labour and feminist organizing. They share their insights and personal testimonies on the double legacy of racism and sexism, linking their personal struggles with the ongoing battle to end systemic discrimination and violence against women and people of colour.
Mother Earth
Terre Nash 1991 10 min
This short documentary is a celebration of life on planet Earth. Made from haunting visual images selected from 50 years of NFB productions, the film looks at human beings, their place on earth, and their deep interconnection with all other beings. Evocations of forces that threaten the planet and all its inhabitants also offer avenues for reflection. Musical score by Loreena McKennitt.
No Time to Stop
Helene Klodawsky 1990 29 min
Kwai Fong Lai is from Hong Kong, Alberta Onyejekwe from Ghana, and Angela Williams from Jamaica. They are immigrants to Canada, visible minorities, and women, a combination designed to make their lives difficult. While Canadian society has yet to accustom itself to its immigrant reality, these strong and resilient women manage to adapt and survive. At home and at work, they speak candidly about the conditions that shape their lives.
The Burning Times
Donna Read 1990 56 min
This documentary takes an in-depth look at the witch hunts that swept Europe just a few hundred years ago. False accusations and trials led to massive torture and burnings at the stake and ultimately to the destruction of an organic way of life. The film questions whether the widespread violence against women and the neglect of our environment today can be traced back to those times.
Illuminated Lives: A Brief History of Women's Work in the Middle Ages
Ellen Besen 1989 5 min
This animated short challenges enduring myths, spawned by fairy tales and romances, about women in medieval society. It explores the differences and similarities between that distant period and our own, and shows what medieval women’s lives were really like.
Goddess Remembered
Donna Read 1989 54 min
This documentary is a salute to 35,000 years of the goddess-worshipping religions of the ancient past. The film features Merlin Stone, Carol Christ, Luisah Teish and Jean Bolen, all of whom link the loss of goddess-centric societies with today's environmental crisis.
Adam's World
Donna Read 1989 19 min
Intercut with illustrative stock footage, Adam's World present a short lecture by Elizabeth Dodson Gray, a feminist theologian, environmentalist, and futurist. She speaks to us about the severity of our global environmental crisis, and analyzes the root cause of this crisis as lying in the perceptions, beliefs, and assumptions of the patriarchal system we have inherited.

Elizabeth Dodson Gray also offers a feminist perspective on language, and connects the vocabulary of feminized nature to the denigration of women in our culture. Citing such examples as "the exploitation of virgin resources" and "the rape of the earth," she analyzes the role of such language as well as that of male generic language in perpetuating our global crisis. Finally, she calls upon society to nurture the woman's point of view. For it is woman's care-giving capacities, affinity for the long-term future, and awareness of our interconnectedness with all species, that can help build a radically different ethic, and enable planet Earth to survive.
Older Stronger Wiser
Claire Prieto 1989 27 min
In this short documentary, five black women talk about their lives in rural and urban Canada between the 1920s and 1950s. What emerges is a unique history of Canada’s black people and the legacy of their community elders. Produced by the NFB’s iconic Studio D.
A Mother and Daughter on Abortion
Gail Singer 1987 12 min
This short film documents an intimate conversation between a mother and her adult daughter on the subject of abortion. They speak candidly about their personal experiences in trying to obtain the procedure, and how, in different decades – before and after the 1969 amendment to the federal law – each got caught up in the system and its rules. A useful discussion-starter on the complex issues relating to abortion.
Worth Every Minute
Catherine Macleod & Lorraine Segato 1987 28 min
A tribute to the late Pat Schulz, a feisty working-class heroine. Known since the '50s for her battles for human rights and her fight for workers' rights in the labour movement, Schulz became one of Toronto's most respected feminists. She led the struggle for day care, equal pay, and other issues central to the women's movement. By focusing on her life, this documentary gives a historical view of the women's movement: its roots, the early issues, current concerns, and emerging directions.
To a Safer Place
Beverly Shaffer 1987 58 min
This inspiring film is the story of how one woman has come to terms with her life as a survivor of incest. Sexually abused by her father from infancy to early adolescence, Shirley Turcotte is now in her thirties and has succeeded in building a rich and full life. In To a Safer Place, Shirley takes a further step to reconcile her past and present. The film accompanies her as she returns to the people and places of her childhood. Her mother, brothers and sister, all of whom were also caught up in the cycle of family violence, openly share their thoughts. Their frank disclosures will encourage survivors of incest to break through the silence and betrayal to recover and develop a sense of self-worth and dignity.
The Man Who Stole Dreams
Joyce Borenstein 1987 11 min
This enchanting and magical animation film, an ode to our dreams during the night, celebrates the creative imagination, uniqueness, and the human spirit. The plot involves a man who steals the dreams of innocent villagers, then eventually tries to sell them back to the townsfolk. Sarah, a young child, is instrumental in alerting the villagers to what has happened and enabling them to find and reclaim their dreams. Suitable for Grade 3 to adult; film, dream, and creativity courses; psychology; and mental health-care programs. Based on Barbara Taylor's book, The Man Who Stole Dreams.
Love Affair with Politics: A Portrait of Marion Dewar
Terre Nash 1987 26 min
In this short documentary, Oscar®-winner Terre Nash turns her lens on Marion Dewar, one of Canada's most successful female politicians, while she was mayor of Ottawa. In her 7 years as mayor, Dewar was instrumental in the Rideau Centre project, introduced disarmament referendums into municipal politics, was the leading force in raising Canada's quota for Vietnamese refugees, and became known for her social responsibility and common sense.
Firewords: Louky Bersianik, Jovette Marchessault, Nicole Brossard
Dorothy Todd Henaut 1986 1 h 24 min
This feature documentary offers an intimate glimpse of three respected yet controversial Quebec writers. Now recognized at home and abroad, Louky Bersianik, Jovette Marchessault and Nicole Brossard have contributed greatly to the creation of a distinctive women’s literature. Confirming that fresh approaches to literature are still possible, they have helped to heighten awareness of the politics of language. Excerpts from their works vividly convey each woman’s style, concerns and rhythms. They examine personal and global issues from a feminist perspective: human relationships, work, justice, poverty, loneliness, women’s spirituality, and the future.
Children of War
Premika Ratnam 1986 25 min
A short doc about teenagers from war and conflict zones. It focuses on the 1985-86 International Youth for Peace and Justice Tour – featuring young people from Central America, southern Africa and Northern Ireland – and depicts their interaction with Canadian high school students. Contains graphic accounts of violence.
Moving On
Tina Horne 1986 28 min
This short documentary looks at how the community of London, Ontario, has implemented a plan to address the issue of domestic violence. These efforts, spearheaded by police, lawyers, doctors, transition house staff, women's groups, and social services agencies have turned London into a rare model community. There, The London Battered Women's Advocacy Clinic and "Changing Ways," a therapy program for men who batter, contribute to the city's innovative attempt to break the cycle of violence. Moving On is part of the The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.
Sylvie's Story
Tina Horne 1986 27 min
This short film recreates the experience of Sylvie, a battered woman who seeks shelter in a Montréal transition house. Faced with the threat of violence, loneliness, the lack of financial resources or information about services, the victim is often understandably reluctant to seek help. Emphasizing the importance for women of speaking out, the film also points out the role of the transition house in putting victims of abuse in touch with appropriate legal and social services. Sylvie’s Story is part of The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.
A Safe Distance
Tina Horne 1986 27 min
The short documentary looks at some innovative approaches to providing services and accommodation for battered women in rural, northern, and Native communities. Filmed in Thompson and Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, and West Bay Reserve, Ontario, the film introduces the women who operate and use various types of accommodation such as transition houses, transition apartments, and safe houses. The shelter on West Bay Reserve is singled out as a project that was built by women for women to stand as a reminder that the Reserve will not tolerate violence against women. A Safe Distance is part of the The Next Step, a 3-film series about the services needed by and available to battered women.
Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief
Carol Geddes 1986 28 min
A tribute to Indigenous women everywhere, this short documentary focuses on 5 women from across Canada. Of varied ages and backgrounds, they have achieved success in a variety of careers: as the Yukon legislature's first Indigenous woman minister (Margaret Joe), as a deck hand on a fishing boat (Corinne Hunt), as a teacher (Sophie MacLeod), as a lawyer (Roberta Jamieson), and as a band council chief (Sophie May Pierre - St. Mary’s Indian Band of the Ktunaxa Nation off the Ktunaxa Nation).
Each of these women talks about how she got to where she is today while emphasizing the importance of Indigenous culture - its values, art, and spiritual beliefs - in helping her to develop a sense of self and seeing through rough times, including residential school experiences.
The Impossible Takes a Little Longer
Anne Henderson 1986 45 min
The Impossible Takes a Little Longer documents the work and personal lives of five physically disabled women. It shows how they are coping with the problems they share with all women, the problems they share with other disabled women and those unique to their particular circumstances. The film affirms that disabled women can lead full and productive lives as workers, as mothers and as valued community members. It informs both disabled women and the able-bodied about the possibilities of adaptations in the workplace, the use of technological aids and the need for support systems if disabled women are to have satisfying and productive lives. The Impossible Takes a Little Longer undermines the stereotypes and prejudices that further hinder a large segment of our population.
Spirit of the Kata
Sharon McGowan 1985 27 min
Five women, all of them black belts in karate, are examples of how this ancient martial art can transform lives. They demonstrate how it can generate a whole range of physical, psychological and spiritual benefits. To these women, karate means much more than self-defence; its lessons of discipline and harmony can be applied to situations on the street or in the boardroom.
The Best Time of My Life: Portraits of Women in Mid-life
Patricia Watson 1985 58 min
An upbeat, positive film about a group of women dealing with mid-life and menopause. The women come from a wide range of backgrounds, careers and lifestyles. Some are married; some are divorced. Interviews alternate with sequences showing the women both at home and in the workplace. Based on the women's experiences, the film effectively dispels popular myths and fears about life during and after menopause.
A Writer in the Nuclear Age: A Conversation with Margaret Laurence
Terre Nash 1985 9 min
In this short film, internationally acclaimed author Margaret Laurence passionately addresses several issues related to peace: the social responsibility of the writer; language usage and reality; jargon and "newspeak"; imagination, meaning and understanding; the nuclear threat; world leadership; the role of empathy in communication; the distinctions between fiction and didactic writing; and the power of "ordinary" people to influence events. The film's scope makes this an excellent discussion starter in diverse subject areas.
Turnaround: A Story of Recovery
Moira Simpson 1984 46 min
The women who seek help at Aurora House share a common illness: they are physically and psychologically dependent on alcohol, prescription drugs, street drugs, or a combination of these. This documentary focuses on the lives of five women at various stages of their rehabilitation. In the supportive and healing atmosphere of women helping other women, they are confronting the issues and feelings they had previously drunk or drugged out of consciousness. Turnaround is a film that will be of special interest to the families, friends and colleagues of people who suffer from addiction, as well as to professionals who are interested in exploring alternative methods of treatment.
Waterwalker
Bill Mason 1984 1 h 26 min
This feature-length documentary follows naturalist Bill Mason on his journey by canoe into the Ontario wilderness. The filmmaker and artist begins on Lake Superior, then explores winding and sometimes tortuous river waters to the meadowlands of the river's source. Along the way, Mason paints scenes that capture his attention and muses about his love of the canoe, his artwork and his own sense of the land.

Mason also uses the film as a commentary on the link between God and nature and the vast array of beautiful canvases God created for him to paint. Features breathtaking visuals and exciting whitewater footage, with a musical score by Bruce Cockburn.
Behind the Veil: Nuns
Margaret Wescott 1984 2 h 10 min
This feature documentary records the turbulent history and remarkable achievements of women in religion, from pre-Christian Celtic communities to the radical sisters of the 1980s. The history of nuns mirrors that of all women - in what we are taught about the past, women are almost invisible. Although today's one million nuns outnumber priests two to one, they still struggle to be heard by the all-male Roman Catholic hierarchy from which they are excluded. In Behind the Veil: Nuns, contemporary nuns speak candidly of their lives, their challenges, and their predecessors.
Abortion: Stories from North and South
Gail Singer 1984 54 min
Women have always sought ways to terminate unwanted pregnancies, despite powerful patriarchal structures and systems working against them. This film provides a historical overview of how church, state and the medical establishment have determined policies concerning abortion. From this cross-cultural survey--filmed in Ireland, Japan, Thailand, Peru, Colombia, and Canada--emerges one reality: only a small percentage of the world's women has access to safe, legal operations.
This Borrowed Land
Bonnie Kreps 1984 28 min
The Peace River Valley in British Columbia is an area of rich farmland threatened by the construction of a hydro-electric dam. This Borrowed Land gives the women who farm the Peace the chance to voice their growing concern over the conversion of farmland to uses not related to the production of food. They ask: "Will we leave our children enough land to grow food on?" They are firmly committed to their lifestyle despite the difficulties, both concrete and imponderable. A film about agriculture, ecology, land misuse, and stout-willed farmers who happen to be women.
Flamenco at 5:15
Cynthia Scott 1983 29 min
This short film is an impressionistic record of a flamenco dance class given to senior students of the National Ballet School of Canada by two great teachers from Spain, Susana and Antonio Robledo. The film shows the beautiful young North American dancers—inspired by the flamenco rhythms and mesmerized by Susana's extraordinary energy—joyously merging with an ancient gypsy culture.
I Want to Be an Engineer
Beverly Shaffer 1983 28 min
This film provides a lively introduction to the professional and personal lives of three female engineers--just a few of the growing number of women who are opting for "non-traditional" jobs. Their enthusiasm for and commitment to their work makes them convincing role models for high-school girls who might be considering engineering as a career possibility. As well, the film is effective in fostering positive attitudes towards women working in the traditionally male professions of science and technology. Support material available.
The Way It Is
Beverly Shaffer 1982 24 min
This sensitive drama examines the effects of divorce on a family, particularly on a twelve-year-old girl. Although Helen Murray's parents were divorced two years ago, Helen still hopes for a reconciliation. When a visit from her father is cancelled, an emotionally charged confrontation with her mother takes place. Helen admits her anguish over the divorce and realizes that she must learn to accept the situation. An excellent film for both children and adults on the themes of family communications and coping positively with family break-up, The Way It Is can be used for discussion in family-life courses and single-parent groups, and for individual and couples counselling.
If You Love This Planet
Terre Nash 1982 25 min
The NFB’s 7th Academy-Award winning film. This short film is comprised of a lecture given to students by outspoken nuclear critic Dr. Helen Caldicott, president of Physicians for Social Responsibility in the USA. Her message is clear: disarmament cannot be postponed. Archival footage of the bombing of Hiroshima and images of its survivors seven months after the attack heighten the urgency of her message.
Portrait of the Artist--As an Old Lady
Gail Singer 1982 27 min
Paraskeva Clark, artist, socialist, feminist, is her own woman at her own cost. This film is a cameo of an irascible and oftentimes touching artist whose work has won her a place in exhibitions and private collections. Born in Russia in 1898, she eventually married a Canadian and moved to Toronto. Because her canvases reflect a strong social conscience, she had to struggle hard to earn a place in the nation's ultra-conservative galleries.
It's Just Better
Beverly Shaffer 1982 15 min
This short documentary takes us to a farmhouse on Cape Breton Island where Shawn Peter Dwyer, age 10, lives with his mother and nine brothers and sisters. While the children’s pockets are usually empty, their lives are well filled. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Julie O'Brien
Beverly Shaffer 1981 18 min
This short film depicts Newfoundland’s “old times” as seen by Julie O’Brien, an 11-year-old living in Tors Cove. Told in the first person with cutaway shots to the girl’s many activities, the film illustrates the way traditions are maintained, remembered and evolved. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Evelyn Lambart 1980 5 min
In this animated short, Evelyn Lambart uses her well-known style of animation – paper figures and brightly colored backgrounds – to revisit Aesop’s tale of 2 mice with vastly different lifestyles. Ultimately, the film suggests it is far better to live simply and in peace than to live in luxury amidst danger.
Rusting World
Laurent Coderre 1980 6 min
The scene is a desolate landscape that reveals no signs of life. Out of the stillness emerge two opposing factions, both wanting possession of a shiny object. This allegorical film suggests a decaying world created by greed, but the ultimate interpretation rests with the viewer.
Laila
Diane Beaudry 1980 10 min
Laila Paattinen is a working woman. Tired of low-paying jobs, she completed a five-month course in dry-wall installation. Because she had chosen a non-traditional job for women, she ran into resistance in the marketplace. She finally solved her problems by opening her own dry-wall application business. A useful film for women seeking non-traditional jobs.
Boys Will Be Men
Donald Rennick 1980 29 min
This film takes a candid, inside look at the world of juvenile delinquency. We are shown the tough existence on the streets of Montréal, but it could be any city in North America. Some boys as young as ten years of age talk about their lives of crime, the things that are important to them, and the hopes they hold for the future.
The Right Candidate for Rosedale
Bonnie Sherr Klein & Anne Henderson 1979 32 min
This short documentary records Black activist Anne Cools’ 1978 run for the Liberal Party nomination in Rosedale, one of Toronto's largest and socially most diverse federal ridings. The film records her bid for political power, and explains the nomination contest, a basic step in the Canadian electoral process. Because she was competing against the Liberal Party's preferred candidate, the nomination battle in Rosedale turned into one of the most innovative and fascinating in the history of Canadian politics.
Sea Dream
Ellen Besen 1979 5 min
Children, like adults, have days that go wrong. This film shows how one little girl overcomes the day's frustrations by diving into an underwater fantasy where she spends time with her friend, the lady octopus. After playing many wonderful games together, the little girl re-enters the world of reality feeling fine and refreshed.
Sun, Wind and Wood
Dorothy Todd Henaut 1978 24 min
This short documentary film illustrates the various ways people fight the high cost of energy by devising ingenious ways to use wood, the sun, and the wind. The film highlights one such project named the Ark. Using natural systems only, this bio-shelter ingeniously provides housing, heat, food and electricity for an entire family.
Patricia's Moving Picture
Bonnie Sherr Klein 1978 25 min
This short documentary tells the true story of Patricia Garner, a woman reluctantly approaching middle age sandwiched between changing social values and the loss of her family role. Illustrating her struggles and successes, this film about newly found courage will inspire everyone.
Benoît
Beverly Shaffer 1978 20 min
Academy Award®-winning director Beverly Shaffer presents Benoit, a highly accomplished 11-year-old boy from Joliette. A member of the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Joliette, he still finds time for his busy social life with peers and elders alike. Part of the Children of Canada series, the film is in French with English subtitles.
How They Saw Us: Service in the Sky
Ann Pearson 1977 9 min
Made in 1957, this film glamorizes a service job in which minor emergencies appear as serious and absorbing challenges. Marriage is assumed to be the natural end of the middle-class woman's working life.
How They Saw Us: Needles and Pins
Ann Pearson & Roger Blais 1977 10 min
In this film about a factory seamstress, there is the substitution of glamor for genuine job satisfaction and advancement. The film was made in 1955.
How They Saw Us: Women at Work
Ann Pearson 1977 12 min
This is an abridged version of a film made in 1958. The greater part of the film accepts as normal the waste of women's talents in repetitive or service jobs, while elevating this work to the status of a career.
How They Saw Us: Proudly She Marches
Ann Pearson 1977 18 min
A recruitment film made in 1943. Its words offer women the excitement and challenge of new kinds of work in the armed services. The visual message, however, suggests that this work is merely temporary and possibly even unnatural for women.
How They Saw Us: Women at War
Ann Pearson 1977 10 min
This 1942 British film, Women at War, contrasts sharply with similar Canadian productions. It accepts women's direct participation in the war effort as a natural outgrowth of their peacetime occupations.
How They Saw Us: Careers and Cradles
Ann Pearson 1977 11 min
Made in 1947, this transitional film uses the celebration of token women of achievement as a way of justifying marriage as a career. It points to the emphasis on femininity and consumerism in the 1950s.
How They Saw Us: Is It a Woman's World?
Ann Pearson 1977 29 min
This film, made especially for television in 1956, embodies the conventional myth that women indirectly exercise power through their ability to manipulate men through sex and marriage.
How They Saw Us: Wings on Her Shoulder
Ann Pearson 1977 11 min
This is a 1943 recruitment film. Although it specifically promises women jobs in post-war aviation, its primary message is that women fulfill support positions "so that men might fly."
Veronica
Beverly Shaffer 1977 14 min
Nine-year-old Veronica Makarewicz leads a double life. Born of Polish parents, she dances Polish dances, goes twice weekly to a Polish school, and talks to Polish customers in her parents' bakery. But this film shows that she is also very Canadian. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Some American Feminists
Luce Guilbeault , Nicole Brossard , … 1977 55 min
This documentary is composed of a series of interviews, combined with newsreel footage, that place the American feminist moment in historical perspective. Six of the movement's founding women, including Betty Friedan and Kate Millett, discuss the issues that most concern them. A film that remains relevant, even today.
I'll Find a Way
Beverly Shaffer 1977 25 min
This Oscar®-winning documentary presents Nadia, a 9-year-old girl with spina bifida. Her dream is to attend a regular school, even though she knows other kids will tease her. Wise for her young age, Nadia simply decides that she'll "find a way to deal with it." Despite having to overcome many obstacles, Nadia's got spunk and makes it clear she's not looking for sympathy. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Gurdeep Singh Bains
Beverly Shaffer 1977 11 min
Gurdeep is a thirteen-year-old Canadian Sikh whose family runs a dairy farm near Chilliwack, British Columbia. They have retained their language and religion. Attendance at the Sikh temple, playing soccer with his schoolmates, and working on the farm are all part of Gurdeep's well-integrated life, but sometimes he feels a little different from the other children because he wears a turban. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Beautiful Lennard Island
Beverly Shaffer 1977 23 min
This short documentary introduces us to Lennard Island, a tiny island near Tofino, British Columbia, and the family of 4 who are its sole occupants. There we meet the lightkeeper’s son, Steven Thomas Holland, age 10, and his father, mother and brother. A gracious host and great fan of his island home, the boy takes us on a tour and dispels any ideas that living in isolation might be boring. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Kevin Alec
Beverly Shaffer 1977 16 min
In the mountainous country near Lillooet, British Columbia, eleven-year-old Kevin Alec of the Fountain Indian Reserve learns to make fishnets with his grandfather, and skin and tan hides with his aunt. He goes fishing with his grandmother and horseback riding with his brother. Life is full of wonderful things to do and to learn. Will Kevin eventually abandon his traditional way of life or will it be a source of continuing enrichment? This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Maud Lewis: A World Without Shadows
Diane Beaudry 1976 10 min
Set against a background of her paintings and the Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, landscapes they depict, this short documentary is a portrait of the life and work of one of Canada's foremost primitive painters, Maud Lewis. Emerging from her youth crippled with arthritis, Lewis escaped into her painting at the age of 30. She had never seen a work of art and had never attended an art class but her paintings captured the simple strength, beauty and happiness of the world she saw - a world without shadows.
Co-op Housing: Getting It Together
Laura Sky 1975 23 min
People, housing, funds and expertise: getting them together isn't easy, but it can be done. The film deals with the planning and procedures involved in setting up a co-op, whether that means building one, or buying and rehabilitating existing housing. People living in different kinds of co-ops talk about them, and how they function.
My Name Is Susan Yee
Beverly Shaffer 1975 12 min
Academy Award®-winning director Beverly Shaffer offers a unique perspective of downtown Montreal, as seen through the eyes of Susan Yee, a young Chinese-Canadian girl. A perceptive and outspoken young woman, Susan has a sharp eye for adult foibles, and she doesn’t hesitate to use it at home, at play, or at school. Part of the Children of Canada series.
My Friends Call Me Tony
Beverly Shaffer 1975 12 min
Meet Tony Rossi, a 10-year-old boy who can only distinguish light from shadow. Despite this difficulty, he leads a very active life. The short documentary shows the ingenious ways in which Tony manages his life. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
Great Grand Mother
Anne Wheeler & Lorna Rasmussen 1975 28 min
This short film is an ode to the women who settled the Prairies, from the days of early immigration to 1916 - when Manitobans became the first women in Canada to receive the provincial vote - and beyond. Recollections of women are complemented by a series of quotations drawn from letters, diaries, and newspapers of the day, which are spoken over re-enacted scenes and archival photographs.
Our Dear Sisters
Kathleen Shannon 1975 14 min
Alanis Obomsawin, an Indigenous woman who earns her living by singing and making films, is the mother of an adopted child. She talks about her life, her people, and her responsibilities as a single parent. Her observations shake some of our cultural assumptions.
"... and They Lived Happily Ever After"
Kathleen Shannon , Irene Angelico , … 1975 13 min
Made in 1975, as part of the Challenge for Change program, this film takes a long, hard look at marriage and motherhood as expressed in the views of a group of young girls and married women. Their opinions cover a wide range. At regular intervals glossy advertisements extolling romance, weddings, babies, flash across the screen, in strong contrast to the words that are being spoken. The film ends on a sobering thought: the solution to dashed expectations could be as simple as growing up before marriage.
Mothers Are People
Kathleen Shannon 1974 7 min
Joy is a research biologist, a consultant to a large company. She is also a widow with two school-age children. In discussing her own dilemmas she speaks for many other women. "The powers that be know that women do work, but they turn a deaf ear." Apart from "discrimination against women," Joy sees the absence of universal day care as a loss for children too.
Luckily I Need Little Sleep
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.
Like the Trees
Kathleen Shannon 1974 14 min
This short film is told in the first person by Rose, a Métis woman from northern Alberta who has left a difficult life in the city to rediscover her roots by returning to her Woodland Cree community. Rose reveals the racism, isolation and health issues she faced when trying to make a life for herself outside her home community, and how she is able to help others now that she has reconnected to her culture.
The film is part of a 1970s series of eleven films title Working Mothers by producer/director Kathleen Shannon, exposing inequality for women in accessing education, childcare, and equal pay. These films led to the creation of Studio D at the National Film Board, the world’s first feminist production studio.

Studio D: The Women’s Film Studio

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