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BloomFanie Pelletier 2022 1 h 24 minThrough moments in the lives of three groups of girls, images gleaned from the web and live streams of young women around the world, Bloom delves into the world of today's teenage girls. We delicately observe a hyper-connected but lonely generation inhabited by great lucidity, an inner struggle with self-image obsession, and a need for self-affirmation in the face of a complex sense of alienation. -
The Lost Garden: The Life and Cinema of Alice Guy-BlachéMarquise Lepage 1995 52 minThis feature documentary is a portrait of Alice Guy-Blaché, one of cinema's most fearless pioneers. A filmmaker before the word even existed, Guy-Blaché made her first film at the end of the last century, when cinema was still brand-new. After directing, producing and writing more than 700 films, she slipped into oblivion. This film rescues her brave and shining memory.
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Cano, Notes on a Collective ExperienceJacques Ménard 1979 1 h 29 minPortrait of a group of rock musicians living in Ontario who sing in both English and French. They live and create collectively. The film shows them on the road, on stage, in hotel rooms and in the recording studio. What differentiates them from other musicians is their strong sense of sharing, whether it be of the limelight, their talent, their creativity, or their income. The star system does not exist for them.
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Speaking Our PeaceTerre Nash & Bonnie Sherr Klein 1985 55 minFilmed in Canada, Britain and the U.S.S.R., this hour-long documentary focuses on local and international peace initiatives by women. Featured in the film are Rosalie Bertell, Marion Dewar, Muriel Duckworth, Ursula M. Franklin, Darlene Keju, Margaret Laurence, Solanges Vincent and Kathleen Wallace-Deering. In interviews and in encounters with Soviet women, they outline their views on war and peace. The film includes scenes of women in mass demonstrations at Litton Systems Canada and at Greenham Common in England, as well as footage of ordinary citizens who must live with the health and environmental problems caused by uranium mining and nuclear weapons testing.
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Johnny OsbourneGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 18 minBefore gaining international recognition as the “Dancehall Godfather,” legendary singer Johnny Osbourne was at the forefront of a revolution that transformed Toronto into one of the most influential reggae communities in the world.
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Roy & YvonneGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 15 minRoy Panton and Yvonne Harrison made history as one of the first Jamaican ska duos. Decades after going their separate ways, the pair rekindle their magic—this time, 3,000 kilometres north, in Scarborough, Ontario.
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Nana McLeanGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 15 minAgainst the changing face of Toronto’s Little Jamaica, where she established some of the city’s landmark reggae record stores, singer Nana McLean challenges outdated stereotypes and establishes her reputation as the queen of Reggae in Canada.
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Leroy SibblesGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 17 minIn Trench Town—the birthplace of reggae—Leroy Sibbles rose to stardom as the lead singer of The Heptones and the undisputed king of the reggae bassline. Then, at the height of his career, he left it all behind to create a new legacy for himself in Toronto.
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Jerry Brown’s Summer RecordsGraeme Mathieson & Chris Flanagan 2024 15 minJerry Brown’s Summer Records was one of the first recording studios to give Canadian reggae artists a voice. Four decades later, never-before-seen footage lets us meet the man behind the mixer for the very first time.
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A Quiet WaveBarry Perles 1971 20 minFor some people it is the later years that release the passion and confidence for self-expression in the arts. This film shows one of them, Cecil Richards, close to his seventieth year, who spends his time working alone at his Lakefield, Ontario, retreat, in what he calls the "honest" media of sculpture--wood, clay, stone and bronze. For anyone interested in the nature of an artist and his inspiration, here is a relaxed, absorbing study.
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The SaddlemakerGrant Crabtree 1961 16 minFrom Alberta's cowboy country, a story of a young girl's first love, a saddle. Every saddle that leaves Felmer Eamor's shop becomes a proud possession. In this film you sympathize with a fourteen-year-old girl's wish to have such a saddle, and the bluff she pulls to get it.
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28° Above BelowBané Jovanovic & Ken Page 1973 9 minTwenty-eight degrees above zero was the temperature below the sea ice, although surface temperatures dipped to fifty below at Resolute Bay within the Arctic Circle when the MacInnis Expedition made its first organized winter dive in the polar sea. The object was to test the ability of people and equipment to function in that extremely hostile environment. Commenting on the expedition is Dr. Joseph B. MacInnis himself, in brief conversation with astronaut Scott Carpenter. There is underwater film of the dive and of Sub-Igloo, the plastic spherical habitat that was anchored to the ocean floor.
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Bonjour Toronto!Clément Perron 1965 28 minA young Montrealer explores Toronto for the first time. Despite some ready-made notions, the visitor is eager to look and learn, and before long is caught by the excitement of the Queen City. Although some of his prior convictions are confirmed, he finds, somewhat to his surprise, that the city has much to offer, including a French bookstore.
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Famous Fish I Have MetJack Olsen 1949 10 minVeteran fisherman Gregory Clark converts hunter Pete McGillen to the joys of fishing. Included are shots of muskie and pike drawn from northern lakes, small mouth bass, speckled trout from the Rocky Mountains, coho salmon, Atlantic salmon and tuna.
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One Hand ClappingJoan Henson 1972 9 minNoise pollution is a scourge of our time no less than are the visible forms that contaminate our environment. From the jangle of the alarm clock to the din of downtown, noise assails us throughout the day. The way the film depicts this aural enemy provides overpowering, at times amusing, evidence that here, too, the time has come to call a halt.
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Eyes Front No. 22: Dentally Fit1945 9 minThe Canadian Army Dental Corps is responsible for the dental health of all Army, Navy and Air Force personnel.
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Challenge for the ChurchWilliam Weintraub 1972 27 minIn Québec, as elsewhere, some venerable old church buildings fell to the wreckers' hammer to make way for urban development. What is said about the role of the Roman Catholic church and the priesthood is recorded in frank, perceptive interviews, including one with a young working priest who laid aside the robes of the past to don the garb of the modern generation.
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A Great Little ArtistMartin Defalco 1973 28 minA fictionalized account of a day in the life of members of an Italian community in Canada.
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The Conquered Dream1971 51 minA documentary history of the exciting, sometimes ill-fated exploration of Canada's Arctic, produced jointly by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada. The film shows the challenge and the rewards of the far north and, from rare film footage, some of the exploits of the first and last men to run the gauntlet of the cold: Byrd's flight; Stefansson's sled journey; Captain Bernier's explorations; and finally, the voyage of the U.S.S. Manhattan.
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Beyond the Naked EyeClaudia Overing 1973 18 minA film of marvels, an amazing view of the living, pulsing universe contained in a single drop of water from an aquarium. Colour film and a microscope, and the infinite patience of the filmmakers, reveal life that no one would ordinarily see. This is a view of creation, of birth, life and death, of the laws of nature that apply even to the smallest of living things. It is a film that will add knowledge and insight to the pleasure of any audience.
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Happiness IsClorinda Warny 1972 7 minFor a young mother happiness can be an hour's stroll in the park with her sleeping infant--but happiness is short-lived when the baby begins to cry and the passers-by pause with freely proffered advice. Made of animated paper cut-outs, this film without words is a spoof about the self-styled child experts who are so caught up with their own views of what's best for a child that they fail to see the infant's real problem.
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Dans la vie...Pierre Veilleux 1972 5 minHere the film animator gives vivid expression to his own memories of a child's first encounter with elementary school--at that tender age when grown-ups seem ten feet tall, a monster lurks in every corridor, and the very walls have eyes. Feeling, but not understanding, the regimentation imposed on him, the child seeks, in spite of it all, to be himself. A film without words; titles in French.
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Cavendish CountryDonald Brittain 1973 27 minCal Cavendish of Calgary is one of Canada's finest writers of country-western music. He sings his own songs and could make it as an entertainer but refuses to sing in bars where, he feels, no one really listens. So he pays for his integrity by working nights as a part-time security guard. But disc jockeys play his records, his popularity grows, and one day he will be on the big fifteen-metre stage where people do pay attention.
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MirageRick Raxlen 1972 5 minAn intriguing inside-out view of moving figures and images, made by using a colour negative print, but with more vivid colours and with accompanying sound effects that suggest the same kind of inversion of the sound track. Figures and faces appear in a shimmering haze; the one most frequently seen is a figure skater flashing, pirouetting, fading. These are shades of people and of movements, appearing, retreating, as in a mirage.
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Mathematics at Your FingertipsJohn Howe 1961 27 minIn today's classrooms various new ways are being tried to put children more at ease with numbers. This film shows one such system developed by a Belgian schoolmaster, Georges Cuisenaire. He carefully designed sets of coloured sticks to help children grasp simple mathematical relationships. (Originally released under the title Numbers in Colour.)
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Roughnecks: The Story of Oil DrillersGuy L. Coté 1960 21 minThe work of an oil-drilling crew. Audiences will relish this tale of tough roustabouts who bulldoze a wilderness in a push for liquid wealth.
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The Colour of LifeJ.V. Durden 1955 23 minThis film probes the perennial miracle of the growth of a seedling, the seasonal upsurge of life in a forest giant, and the mysterious alchemy of a single leaf. Presented in magnified dimension through time-lapse photography and animated diagrams, a maple leaf and segments of a tree serve to illustrate the physiological processes that go on in all plants.
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Let's Talk About FilmsJulian Biggs 1953 18 minAn approach-to-film discussion showing some of the problems encountered and how they may be overcome. A group of leaders tries to recognize the factors leading to successful film discussion by observing an audience actively discussing a familiar film. In retrospect one of the group recalls being unable to arouse any response whatever with the same film. Why did one effort fail and the other succeed? These questions are closely examined by the group leaders in a workshop meeting; the centring of discussion in the group rather than in the leader is seen to be an effective technique.
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Putting It StraightWilliam Greaves 1957 14 minA film about "crooked" teeth, dealing with the causes of irregular teeth and stressing the importance of early, regular and systematic care of the primary teeth in preventing such conditions. The case of a young girl whose happiness was being undermined demonstrates that, treated in time, protruding teeth can be straightened. An animation sequence illustrates normal growth and development of the primary teeth and how irregularities can arise.
