At Home: Still Out There

Mohammed and Yulanda Faris are generous and devoted patrons of the arts. Through dramatic re-creation, this short documentary captures the spirit of Montreal in the 1950s, the early days of their relationship, and their passion for music and dance. If we all danced more, says Yulanda Faris, we would be happier people.

Produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2010 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

Stories of resistance, strength and perseverance are laid bare in this examination of a dark day in Canadian history. At the height of tensions at Oka, Quebec, in 1990, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) women, children and Elders fled their community of Kahnawake out of fear for their safety. Once past the Canadian Army that surrounded their home, they were assaulted by angry non-Indigenous protesters who pelted their convoy with rocks. This visceral display of hatred and violence – rarely seen so publicly in Canada – shocked the nation and revealed the severity of the dangers that faced the Kanien’kehá:ka in their struggle to defend a sacred site.

This film is the fourth in Alanis Obomsawin’s landmark series on the Mohawk resistance at Oka that would become a pivot point in contemporary relationships between Indigenous nations and Canada.

Set in the northern region of Afghanistan, this feature drama tells the story of a young bride-to-be who strays from local customs after befriending an Afghan-Canadian translator. Part lament against injustice, part testament to the spirit of a people who have survived decades of war, this film is a compelling drama in which East and West, love and honour, modernity and custom clash with tragic consequences.

At the age of 5, Hannah Taylor spotted her first homeless person in the back alleys of Winnipeg. This experience not only troubled her, but it drove her to do nothing less than change the world. The Ladybug Foundation, the charity Hannah helped establish, has raised over a million dollars to date. With her huge heart and can-do attitude, she preaches a simple message of "Share a little of what you have and always care about others." As this short documentary proves, we all have a lot to learn from Hannah's story.

This short documentary is about an Aboriginal corrections officer who says he is the victim of workplace racial harassment. He has spent the last 18 years fighting a government institution for justice. Made as part of the Work For All project 2006, an NFB and HRSDC-Labour initiative to combat racism in the workplace.

In this short lyrical film, haunting childhood memories, photographs and family stories form the heart of a woman’s search for transformation. A descent into the labyrinths of memory, the film documents Jelena’s recollections of her childhood in both Croatia and Canada, resulting in a fragmentary reconstruction of her past. With candour and sensitivity, Jelena reclaims her own identity, disarming us with her courage and will.

The shore of a lake. A dam. Myriad testimonials that go right over our heads, just like everything else. Camped out in his car, a filmmaker stares out at the landscape through the raindrops coating the windows. Encounters emerge one by one. Voices multiply, at times validating each other, later contradictory. The filmmaker moves from worry to optimism. Only one question remains: Is there a right answer?

Mr. MadDogg gives the lowdown on drugs, friendship and the street as he whips up breakfast for 100 fellow residents at the Bosman Hotel.

This short film is a chapter from Here At Home, a web documentary about mental health and homelessness that takes us inside the Mental Health Commission of Canada's At Home pilot project.

This short documentary profiles a community engaged in developing sustainable living methods, including food production and small-scale solar and wind technology, on a farm in Massachusetts in the 1970s. Well before sustainability was a mainstream concern, these prescient innovators attempted to create a vision of a greener, kinder world. "Think small," say the New Alchemists. "Look what thinking big has done."

More 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.

In this short documentary, a group of pupils aged 8 to 13 embark on a school project to find out all they can about garbage and its impact on the environment. The places they visit tell us a lot about the society we live in and about ecology, cities, art and history.