From Arusha to Arusha

Four children see images of other youngsters around the world who dream of doing great things when they grow up but whose dreams are dashed by the harsh reality of their lives. Shocked, the children urgently ask adults to do something. A synthesis of articles 27, 29, 30, 31 and 38 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, this film illustrates children's right to a future. Film without words.

Four children who have picked up all sorts of annoying behavior from watching television decide instead to create their own games. This animated film for five- to eight-year-olds is intended to awaken children's critical sense regarding the media messages aimed at them. (Film without words).

This provocative documentary uncovers a lost chapter in Canadian military history: how the Armed Forces dealt with homosexual behaviour among soldiers, during and after World War II. More than 60 years later, a group of five veterans, barely adults when they enlisted, break the silence to talk about how homosexual behaviour "was even more unmentionable than cancer." Yet amidst the brutality of war, instances of sexual awakening among soldiers and officers were occuring. Initially, the Army overlooked it, but as the war advanced, they began to crack down: military tribunals, threats of imprisonment, discharge and public exposure. After the war, officers accused of homosexuality were discharged. Back home in Canada, reputations and careers were ruined. For the young men who had served their country with valour, this final chapter was often too much to bear. Based on the book Courting Homosexuals in the Military by Paul Jackson.

This short documentary by Alanis Obomsawin tells the story of Kahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman arrested after the Oka Crisis' 78-day armed standoff in 1990. She was detained 4 days longer than the other women. Her crime? The prosecutor representing the Quebec government did not accept her Indigenous name.

An adaptation of Louise Dupré’s acclaimed book of poetry, Higher Than Flames Will Go is a moving meditation on the vital importance of taking care of our children, a task that remains essential to humanity’s salvation.

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013: the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows the grassroots campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris, as she challenges electoral corruption and fights to protect the right to citizenship for all people.

Celebrate Black Canadian cinema with the NFB. Explore our collection of films from Black filmmakers across Canada.

This short documentary follows Montreal filmmaker Eylem Kaftan as she travels to Turkey in an attempt to unravel the 30-year-old mystery of her aunt Guzide's murder. As she searches for clues and closure, she encounters antiquated customs in a Kurdish culture she's never known. She knows that her aunt was the victim of a senseless vendetta killing and as she ventures from village to village she pieces together the woman’s final days and closes in on the identity of her killer. Vendetta Song is produced by DLI Productions in co-production with the NFB.

The NFB's 42nd Oscar®-nominated film.

This dramatic film introduces us to Tommy, a World War II veteran who rooms alone, waiting for his pension cheque to arrive, passing the time in the evenings with his cronies in the Legion Hall. Lennie can claim only a third of Tommy's years, but he prowls the same area of town, and the two have more in common than either of them realizes. Both their lives lack a sense of place and purpose. The story occurs early in November and leads up to an event that provides one of Tommy's few remaining moments of glory, the annual veterans' Remembrance Day parade.

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.

This short documentary zooms in on the Dinka population of Alek, South Sudan, during a period of famine. The Dinkas are an extremely patient people. With empty stomachs, they await the next harvest. For the last 40 years, an intermittent state of civil war has divided the country in 2. This time, the population has requested aid. Sacks of grain are dropped from planes, but to prevent rioting, distribution is delayed until the arrival of reinforcements. During this week of waiting, we witness the true face of hunger.

A moving and graphic portrait of the people of wartorn Beirut in their day-to-day struggle to survive in the rubble and despair. Filmed shortly after the 1982 massacres at Sabra and Chatila, the film gives a vivid picture of the plight of these people and of any people who are too poor to escape the ravages of war.