Catherine O’Hara : Nous brillons toutes et tous

From SCTV and Home Alone to Best in ShowSchitt’s Creek, Catherine O’Hara collaborates with fellow performers throughout her legendary career to take comedy to new heights.

This documentary shares the stories of seven women from Newfoundland who married American soldiers. From the beginning of World War II to the end of the Cold War, Newfoundland housed some of the largest military bases outside of the U.S. As a result, as many as 40,000 Newfoundland women married American soldiers. Using a combination of interviews and old war footage, Seven Brides for Uncle Sam shows how some of the most important events in world history can serve as the backdrop to the timeless tales of romance, heartbreak and joy.

Deanne Foley profiles fellow Newfoundlander Mary Walsh, the Great Warrior Queen of Canadian comedy, musing on time wasted

Deanne Foley profiles fellow Newfoundlander Mary Walsh, the Great Warrior Queen of Canadian comedy, musing on time wasted as an object of desire and time well spent as the fearless agent of her own destiny. A joyous call to action.

Decades before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Shirley Bear was defying repressive colonial narratives with inspiring imagery of Indigenous womanhood. Catherine Martin profiles the Wolastoqiyik/Malecite artist known as Minqon Minqon (Rainbow Rainbow).

This feature-length film introduces viewers to Soraida, a Palestinian woman who lives in Ramallah. In her neighbourhood the women do not all wear veils, the men do not rattle off empty political slogans, the young people do not strap bombs to their belts, and the children play together like kids everywhere. Taking us into the daily existence of Soraida, her family and neighbours, the film compels us to ask fundamental questions about life in the Middle East.

Cree director Alexandra Lazarowich riffs off classic verité cinema to craft a contemporary portrait of Métis women net fishing in Northern Alberta.

Guilty of loving life! A dramatization of an actual court case in turn-of-the-century Québec. A lively, outgoing woman is accused of murdering her husband in collaboration with the hired hand. The townspeople do not appreciate her robust personality and the proceedings in court degenerate to a judgment of her character. Filled with stunning visual imagery, this feature film captures the spirit of the time and place. Particularly useful for those interested in history, law or women's issues. With English subtitles.

One hundred years after signing Treaty 9 with the federal government, the Abitibiwinni of the Algonquin Nation are calling for respect for their lands, history, culture and rights.

Since 2004, Wapikoni Mobile has been giving young Aboriginals the opportunity to speak out using video and music. This short documentary was made with the guidance of these travelling studios and is part of the 2007 Selection - Wapikoni Mobile.

A woman with a deep love of the land, Yolande Simard Perrault sees her life as having been shaped by a planetary upheaval in Charlevoix, Quebec, millions of years ago. As enduring as the Canadian Shield, she’s a woman of strength and spirit, a child of the crater left by the meteor’s impact. This documentary portrays a determined woman who’s the reflection of a land created on an immense scale. She was the creative and life partner of filmmaker Pierre Perrault, who gave up everything to be by her side. The film charts the influence of her unquenchable dreams and her contribution to the building of a people’s collective memory. In a stream of images and words, Simard Perrault recounts the splendours of the landscape and the people who shaped it. Generous and boundless, she embarks on a quest for identity that nurtures and perpetuates the oeuvre of the man who breathed new life into Quebec cinema.

In this feature-length documentary, Marilyn Waring demystifies the language of economics by defining it as a value system in which all goods and activities are related only to their monetary value. As a result, unpaid work (usually performed by women) is unrecognized while activities that may be environmentally and socially detrimental are deemed productive. Waring maps out an alternative vision based on the idea of time as the new currency.

In this short film, Margie Gillis becomes the very embodiment of modern dance - she steps into the light, lifts her arms and unleashes her extraordinary mane into the air.

Four decades into a remarkable career, Gillis is a beacon of compassion and creativity. Watch as high-speed cameras capture the delicate and savage joy of Canada's own Isadora Duncan.

Produced by the National Film Board of Canada in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2011 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.