Michael J. Fox

Director John Bolton explores Michael J. Fox’s dedication to the craft of acting over the course of an illustrious career. A candid and charming interview features stories about some of his best-loved characters and the process of bringing them to life, shedding light on what drives him as a performer, writer and pop-culture icon.

That Higher Levelfollows the 100 musicians who make up the National Youth Orchestra of Canada over the course of two months of training and touring across the country. Embedded with the orchestra throughout, filmmaker John Bolton weaves together footage that captures the essence of the training institute and, eventually, the journey and performances on tour.

This short film is a portrait of Tofino, BC intertidal artist Pete Clarkson as he crafts his most ambitious and personal project to date: a memorial to the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami. He, like so many of us around the world, was deeply affected by the disaster. Years later, as splintered and mangled timber and other objects started to wash ashore, the disaster hit home again for Clarkson, and the inspiration for his memorial was born. In Clarkson’s caring hands, the remnants from the Tohoku region take on a life of their own as he shapes them into a unique public sculpture. The result is an evocative memorial that is a site of remembrance and contemplation, and an emotional bridge connecting an artist, his community and a people an ocean away.

Fils d’un humble immigrant italien, E. Noël Spinelli a consacré la majeure partie de sa vie à rendre la musique accessible à la communauté ouvrière de Lachine, au Québec. Témoignage émouvant de l’amour profond que M. Spinelli voue à l’opéra et à Puccini, ce court métrage nous fait découvrir ce que la musique lui a apporté et ce qui le motive à nous faire partager sa magie.

Director Carrie Haber delves deep into the anxiety, thrill and uncertainty of six aspiring animation artists as they are plunged into the twelve-week trial-by-fire that is the NFB's Hothouse for animation filmmakers.

In this feature-length documentary, 8 Inuit teens with cameras offer a vibrant and contemporary view of life in Canada's North. They also use their newly acquired film skills to confront a broad range of issues, from the widening communication gap between youth and their elders to the loss of their peers to suicide. In Inuktitut with English subtitles.

This documentary tells the story of Joseph Viszmeg, an Edmonton filmmaker who was diagnosed with a rare form of adrenal cancer in 1991. Doctors gave him a year to live, but 4 years later Viszmeg is very much alive. This is his personal account of living with this disease.

A superb visual trick that will mystify its audience, this animated film transforms the commonplace into magic.

In this short animation film, Norman McLaren presents the first 3 of the 5 categories of motion: constant, accelerated and decelerated. Various types of acceleration and deceleration are demonstrated, and examples are shown of how these types of motion may be applied in regard to gesture, gravity and perspective.

A feature documentary on Nigeria’s successful movie industry. The creative duo of Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal – the same team who made Discordia – profile the Lagos-based dream machine. Operating on low budgets and tight schedules, “Nollywood” specializes in a unique form of African B-movie that draws upon both traditional voodoo stories and contemporary urban themes.

In this award-winning animation-documentary, we meet two unusual artists. Ryan Larkin was once a brilliant filmmaker who ended up on the streets in Montreal. Chris Landreth is a rising star in animation beginning to experience the kind of adulation Larkin received decades earlier.

With excerpts from both men's Oscar®-nominated works, this film delves into the tale of Larkin’s descent and the fascinating relationship that developed between the two men. It is a poignant study of artists, addiction and creativity.