Motivation

This full-length documentary is the 4th part of the Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment looks at the management of cultural conflict: how a major Canadian corporation comes to grips with one of the principal challenges it faces--the bilingual, bicultural nature of the Québec society in which it is headquartered. A close and remarkably candid view of how the president, Sam Steinberg, and his top and middle management handle a problem with parallels far beyond the borders of Québec.

This full-length documentary is the 7th and final part of Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment documents a 3-day conference held in the corporation's lodge north of Montreal. There, faced with the stepping down of Sam Steinberg as president, ambitious top-level executives thrash out their differences on matters of corporation policy and objectives. But who will replace Mr. Sam, the man who built the business? Sprinkled with Sam Steinberg's reminiscences and reflections on business, full of insights into the workings of a large corporation and clashes of interest and character, the film presents an unusually close view of a struggle for position and power.

This full-length documentary is the 2nd part of the Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment looks at the corporation's impact on the environment – the way in which its growth can influence not only where and how people live and work, but also the shape of cities and suburbs. As the corporation's president, Sam Steinberg, reminisces about the company's early seat-of-the-pants expansion, while its executives discuss the logic behind new retail locations.

This short documentary is the first part of the Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. Through the eyes of President Sam Steinberg, the film depicts the company’s growth from a hand-cart and bicycle, then a horse-drawn delivery wagon, to an international, diversified corporation. “A company can't stand still," he says. “It must grow”.

The third part of the Corporation series looks at corporate influence on society and culture. The arrival of a major Canadian supermarket's French subsidiary, Supermarchés Montréal, in a town on the outskirts of Paris has a social and cultural impact: on the shopping and eating habits of the local population; on stall-holders in the traditional local market who see their customers drift away; on employees who must adjust to an unaccustomed work environment. President Sam Steinberg's first visit to the French stores provides a first-hand glimpse of the homogenizing effect of corporate technology on culture. Other films in the series are: 1. Growth, 2. Real Estate, 4. Bilingualism, 5. The Market, 6. Motivation, 7. After Mr. Sam.

In his first small store, Sam Steinberg says, customers were like family – they'd pitch in to help at busy times. No more. This fifth part of the Corporation series, filmed in stores, at consumer meetings, and in corporate plants and offices, looks at how the corporation that grew from that first small store attempts to hold its own in the three-way tug-of-war with suppliers, competitors and consumers. One strategy in the struggle over price and profit is for the corporation to capture the supplier's share of profit by producing its own brands of foodstuffs and merchandise; another is to watch competitors' prices with an eagle eye and quickly match or beat them; a third is to attempt to mollify consumer groups by consultation and explanation of its policies and prices. Other films in the series are: 1. Growth, 2. Real Estate, 3. International Operations, 4. Bilingualism, 6. Motivation, 7. After Mr. Sam.

This feature documentary is a profile of Canadian press tycoon Roy Thomson, whose single-minded attention to business brought him riches, power, and even a baronetcy in England. A native of Timmins, Ontario, Thomson had a tremendous career as publisher, television magnate, financier, and owner of many newspapers, including leading London dailies. The film is a frank study of an equally frank man.

Made at the end of WWII, this short film shows scenes of food queues, hunger riots and famine in liberated Europe, pointing out the political danger that lies in starvation conditions. Causes of food shortages and measures taken by the Allies to solve these problems are described.

In this short film made during World War II, a teacher explains how children in Russia, China and occupied Europe are going hungry and how Canada is helping to remedy the situation.

Accompanied by a song in the Lil̓wat7úl language, we follow a woman as she makes gwùshum, a Stl’atl’imx (Líl̓wat) dessert and a very special treat. From the harvesting of the xúsum (soapberries or salmonberries) to the construction of the corn-husk whisk, a dish is created that is equal measures mouthwatering and awe-inspiring.

This short is part of the L’il’wata series. In the early 1970s, at the outset of her documentary career, Alanis Obomsawin visited the Stl’atl’imx (Líl̓wat) Nation, an Interior Salish First Nation in British Columbia, and created a series of shorts that provide personal narratives about their culture, histories and knowledge.

Set to beautiful, pastoral images, We Are What We Eat introduces us to people bringing together their love of good food and passion for environmental protection. We meet wheat and strawberry producers, along with a wine grower and a chef — each doing things at their own pace, while resisting the demands of agribusiness.