Summer Films

Enjoy this selection of films on the greatest season of them all. From vacations, to camping, to summer sports — we’ve got a tantalizing film on each of them to get you psyched for the lazy, hazy days of summer.

Balakrishna
Colin MacKenzie & Aparna Kapur 2019 15 min
When an extraordinary new resident – Balakrishna, an Indian elephant – arrived in the town of East River, Nova Scotia, in 1967, no one was more in awe of the creature than young Winton Cook, who became inseparable from his mammoth new friend. Using painterly animation, photographs and home-movie treasures, Balakrishna transmits the wistfulness of childhood memories, while evoking themes of friendship and loss, and issues of immigration and elephant conservation.
Stories Are in Our Bones
Janine Windolph 2019 11 min
In this layered short film, filmmaker Janine Windolph takes her young sons fishing with their kokum (grandmother), a residential school survivor who retains a deep knowledge and memory of the land. The act of reconnecting with their homeland is a cultural and familial healing journey for the boys, who are growing up in the city. It’s also a powerful form of resistance for the women.
Horse Drawn Magic
Dorothy Todd Henaut 1979 27 min
This documentary short introduces us to the Caravan Stage Company, the world's only horse-drawn open-air theater. Every summer it tours British Columbia and Alberta, bringing live entertainment to communities where television is often the main diversion. In a montage of short sketches, the film shows the troupe on the road and in performance. Hard work and laughter are basic ingredients of this unconventional lifestyle.
Twixt Heaven and Earth
Donna Caruso 1998 47 min
This documentary follows Dr. Stuart Houston, an expert on the Swainson Hawk. Living on the prairies during the summer, this bird flies 11,000 km to Argentina for the winter. These majestic birds are facing a serious threat: toxic pesticides. Houston and his team use satellite technology along with traditional bird-banding to greatly increase our knowledge of the lives of migratory birds.
J.A. Martin Photographer
Jean Beaudin 1977 1 h 41 min
In this feature drama, a wife takes the courageous decision to leave her 5 children at home and accompany her husband on his yearly summer tour as an itinerant photographer. This despite housework, routine and 14 years of marriage having created a mutual indifference. They travel through a turn-of-the-century countryside of narrow lanes and old-time weddings, but most importantly, to an eventual rediscovery of each other.
High Grass Circus
Torben Schioler & Tony Ianzelo 1976 56 min
This feature-length documentary offers an inside look into the workings of a travelling circus. In 1976, directors Tony Ianzelo and Torben Schioler followed the various people involved with the Royal Brothers' Circus as they set up their tents and put on their show. Fascinating to watch, the film captures the 24-hour-a-day brand of magic that the circus evokes while revealing the nature of the people who run it.
The Grasslands Project - Population 21
Scott Parker 2016 9 min
This short documentary from The Grasslands Project is a portrait of Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan. The town has lost all four of its grain elevators, the railway was torn up, the old hotel is in ruins, and the school has been closed for a decade. One of the only attractions left is the community hall, which, on a scant few weekends out of the year, can still get crowded. Meanwhile, to the handful of kind souls who still live in the village, there are good reasons to call Wood Mountain home.
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.
Blackfly
Christopher Hinton 1991 5 min
This animated film about the pesky blackfly is based on the song of the same title, written and sung by Canadian folk singer Wade Hemsworth, with back-up vocals by the McGarrigle sisters. It recounts Hemsworth's battles with this quintessential "critter" during a summer of surveying in Northern Ontario.
Baseball Girls
Lois Siegel 1995 1 h 20 min
This feature documentary uses animation, archival stills and live-action footage to detail the history of women's participation in the largely male-dominated world of baseball and softball. Zany and affectionate, it features 7-year-olds learning the rules and skills of the game and 50-year-olds hitting home runs, from the early days of the Bloomer Girls to the heyday of the Colorado Silver Bullets.
Distant Islands
Bettina Maylone 1981 6 min
This short animation uses appliqué and embroidered tapestries to recall a young girl's happy summers spent sailing with her family off the coast of British Columbia. Each tapestry, meticulously stitched by hand with brightly coloured yarns, evokes the memory of leisurely days at sea, drifting among the islands.
Fundy Holiday
1951 11 min
This short film paints a charming portrait of Fundy National Park in the early 1950s. We follow one family on summer vacation as they settle into life by the sea and explore all that the area has to offer: golf, tennis, swimming, frolicking on the beach and a multitude of other activities. We get a tour of the clubhouse, which serves as the centre of the park’s social life, and of the campsites by the bay, for those who are into a more serene vacation filled with fishing and hiking.
The Quiet Racket
Gerald Potterton 1966 7 min
This short film tells the amusing tale of a man who feels the common urge to escape the city's noise for the weekend. Made without words, but with a wide range of other sounds, this film tracks our hero to a perfect haven of… pandemonium. The countryside, it turns out, is not as unspoiled and quiet as the poets proclaim.
The Grasslands Project - A Rancher's View
Scott Parker 2016 8 min
This short documentary from The Grasslands Project introduces us to rancher Miles Anderson. Anderson is in a tough spot. The land he ranches has been in his family for over a hundred years, but it’s bordered on three sides by an expanding Grasslands National Park and its conservation imperative. Cattle were once considered a major threat to grasslands integrity and the endangered sage grouse in the region, but, due in large part to Miles’ persistence, his cattle are now seen as part of the conservation solution.
The Pedlar
Allan Kroeker 1982 54 min
The Pedlar is a dramatic film based on the short story by W.D. Valgardson, A Place of One's Own. Tired of the rootless, lonely existence of a travelling merchant, a man searches for a place to settle down, and someone to share his life.
Pukaskwa National Park
Bill Mason 1983 17 min
This short documentary by Bill Mason explores Pukaskwa National Park on Lake Superior, providing a background of the park's geological past and plant life. The film also shows scenes of hiking, canoeing and camping. The result is to put us back in touch with the natural elements that our ancestors both fought and enjoyed.
YUL 871
Jacques Godbout 1966 1 h 10 min
In this feature film, an engineer from Paris flies to Montreal (on Air Canada Flight YUL 871), partly on business, partly in search of parents displaced by World War II, and partly because of the prevailing restlessness of the age. He achieves little that is conclusive, but in the short time between his arrival and departure he has a love affair, enjoys a flight over Montreal and the Expo pavillions, and is adopted by a little girl.
The Dingles
Les Drew 1988 7 min
Created by award-winning animator/director Les Drew, this animated short features Doris Dingle and her family of three cats. Sure to appeal to children of all ages, The Dingles shows what happens when an unexpected violent wind disrupts the family's idyllic life. The film is based on the book The Dingles, written by Helen Levchuk and illustrated by John Bianchi.
Drylanders
Don Haldane 1963 1 h 9 min
This epic drama looks at the opening of the Canadian West and the drought that led to the Depression in the Thirties. It is the saga of a family who left Eastern Canada to stake their future in the Prairies. Principle roles are played by Frances Hyland and James Douglas.
Memory of Summer
Stanley Jackson 1958 30 min
An attempt to recapture the magic of childhood as the cameras follow children at play.
Corral
Colin Low 1954 11 min
Western ballads played on guitar are the only sounds used in this romantic portrait of a cowboy. He rounds up wild horses, lassoing one of the high-spirited animals in the corral, and then goes for a glorious plunging ride across the spectacular Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta.
Summer Is For Kids
Stanley Jackson 1949 11 min
This short film presents a delightful portrait of a young boy's sojourn at summer camp. In idyllic mid-century fashion, two weeks at a Muskoka summer camp are presented as a welcome respite from the congestion of an urban area. From the preliminary scramble for the upper bunk in the cabin to exploring in the woods, cooking food over a fire, and—most exciting of all—passing the beginner's swimming test, Roger's camp adventures are full of joy, camaraderie, and learning.
Big Drive
Anita Lebeau 2011 9 min
This short animation film tells the story of a family road trip across the Canadian prairies set in the 1970s. In an era before in-car movies and video games, 4 sisters squeeze into the back of the family car for a long journey. While the parents keep a steady watch on the road ahead, restlessness gradually gives way to mayhem in the car’s close quarters. Just before the ride becomes unbearable, the sisters are inspired to combine their creative energy and the big drive becomes an even bigger adventure.
Island Romance
Donald Ginsberg 1957 30 min
This short fictional film features the picturesque seaside landscape of Prince Edward Island as the setting for a summer romance between a girl from Winnipeg and a young fisherman from North Rustico, PEI. The young couple visits historic and scenic sites such as Government House in Charlottetown and Cavendish, of Green Gables fame. The film is a classic summertime romance and a nostalgic visit to the delightfully sun-soaked PEI of the past.
A Slow Hello
Tom Radford 1974 27 min
This short documentary introduces a new breed of cowboy: one with a Master's degree in Business Administration. Although this new cowboy is gradually phasing out the old romantic image, in British Columbia's beautiful Nicola Valley a few cowpunchers still remember the good old days and, when they can, relive them. This is a look at the cowboy's life in transition as the demands of the marketplace streamline the cattle industry.
King of the Hill
William Canning & Donald Brittain 1974 56 min
This feature documentary follows one of the greatest Canadian baseball players of all time, Ferguson Jenkins, through the 1972-1973 season. From the hope and innocence of spring training to the dog days of an August slump, the camera gets up close and personal at the home plate and records the intimate chatter on the mound, in the dugout and in the locker room. It provides a glimpse into the rewards and pressures of sports stardom and the easy camaraderie of the quintessential summer sport.
The Grasslands Project - Homecoming
Scott Parker 2016 7 min
This short documentary from The Grasslands Project depicts the annual celebrations that take place in countless small communities across the Prairies. These small-town gatherings are a major force in keeping rural communities vibrant. In Magrath, Alberta, this is the weekend when everybody comes home to participate in chicken chases, family reunions and massive community barbecues. We follow the celebrations through the actions of key volunteers, who are the cornerstone of these events.
The Grasslands Project - Generations
Scott Parker 2016 7 min
This short documentary from The Grasslands Project introduces us to nineteen-year-old Shawn Catherwood, who knew from a young age that he’d be a farmer. Many small communities are losing their young people, attracted to careers away from the farm. But it’s always been Shawn's dream to follow in the footsteps of his father, Ken. This film shows Shawn and his father as they navigate the coming generational change, while the audience is given insight into their deep love of the family farm.
Tourist Go Home
Stanley Jackson & Ronald Weyman 1959 24 min
This short film is a humorous look at the tourist industry in Canada. In tongue-in-cheek fashion, it points out the importance of good public relations in the tourist industry - more specifically, what not to do to tourists.
60 Cycles
Jean-Claude Labrecque 1965 16 min
This short documentary follows the 11th St-Laurent long-distance bicycle race held in Quebec in the summer of 1964. There, participants from 13 countries covered 2 400 km of Gaspé countryside in 12 days--a course longer than those of Italy, Belgium or Spain. With the curving landscape of this most picturesque province as backdrop, you see here a sports event where the challenge seems more personal than competitive.
Finding Farley
Leanne Allison 2009 1 h 2 min
In 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.
Song of the Paddle
Bill Mason 1978 40 min
This documentary features outdoorsman Bill Mason and his family as they camp and canoe in the wilderness. The film fosters an appreciation for the art of canoeing while celebrating the sheer joy and beauty of nature. Along their trip, the Masons experience countless adventures and some breathtaking scenery, including indigenous rock carvings by Lake Superior.
Trans Canada Summer
Ronald Dick , Jack Olsen , … 1958 56 min
The camera follows the Trans-Canada Highway from east to west, revealing the people, the resources and the geography of Canada. Included are some of the engineering feats accomplished in the building of the highway.

Summer Films

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