Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," has been hijacked by a shiny, pink story of success.
In this feature documentary, a remarkable group of young Afghan women dream of representing their country as boxers at the 2012 Olympics, embarking on a journey of both personal and political transformation.
In this feature documentary, Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie continue in the same provocative vein as their earlier Forest Alert, this time turning their lens on Canada's mining industry. Using striking images, rare archival footage and interviews, The Hole Story analyzes company profits and the impact of mining on the environment and workers’ health.
Flawed is nothing less than a beautiful gift from Andrea Dorfman's vivid imagination, a charming little film about very big ideas. Dorfman has the uncanny ability to transform the intensely personal into the wisely universal. She deftly traces her encounter with a potential romantic partner, questioning her attraction and the uneasy possibility of love. But, ultimately, Flawed is less about whether girl can get along with boy than whether girl can accept herself, imperfections and all.
This film is both an exquisite tribute to the art of animation and a loving homage to storyboarding, a time-honoured way of rendering scenes while pointing the way to the dramatic arc of the tale.
In this short film, Toronto artist Petra Tolley, who has Down syndrome, performs a soliloquy that encapsulates her distinctive take on the social self. Drawing from her emotional experiences, she illustrates what it feels like to be “in the middle.” Employing rotoscopy, hand-drawn animation techniques and subtle stereoscopic 3D, the film captures Petra as she engages the camera with unflinching directness and dignity.
In this documentary, we hear directly from francophone soldiers serving in the Royal 22e Régiment (known in English as “Van Doos”) who were filmed in the field in March 2011, during their deployment to Afghanistan. They speak simply and directly about their work, whether on patrol or performing their duties at the base. The film's images and interviews bring home the complexity of the issues on the ground and shed light on the little-understood experiences of the men and women who served in Afghanistan.
Inspired by a real-life news item, this animated short paints a pulsating portrait of a mixed-use, working-class neighbourhood where young families cross paths with prostitutes, their interactions leaving unpredictable ripples in the motley fabric of urban life.
This feature documentary exposes the little-known tragedy of girl soldiers in Uganda. How can they learn to live normal lives again after being abducted and trained to become killing machines? Clinging to their dreams, Grace, Milly and Lucy are trying to restore meaning to their lives and break the silence surrounding the fate of a sacrificed generation.
While on an airplane, a traveller's spirit plunges into a dream world. Here, under the influence of the unknown, the logic of his desires prevails, and a romantic saga takes shape. This animated film by Georges Schwizgebel masterfully transports us into a swirling world. Set to the twists and turns of a Rachmaninoff scherzo, Romance exuberantly marries music and movement, erasing the boundary between dreams and reality.
This documentary focuses on the Yukon River Quest, the world's longest annual canoe and kayak race. Athletes come from around the world to test their endurance, racing day and night along 740 km of rugged river shoreline. The film chronicles the experiences of the all-female 2006 Paddlers Abreast team. By following them from the moment they climb into their boat in Whitehorse to the cheers that greet them in Dawson City, the film tells an exhilarating story of a group of women who have faced death and understand how precious life is.
This feature documentary follows Canadian actress Babz Chula to Kerala, India, where she is to undergo treatment by a renowned Ayurvedic healer in an effort to manage her 6-year battle with cancer. The bare-bones Indian clinic at first disappoints, but Babz is uplifted as her condition seemingly shows marked signs of improvement following treatment and introspection. Returning home, however, it is revealed that her cancer has actually advanced. Amazingly, the irrepressible actress invites filmmaker Anne Wheeler to continue bearing witness to her journey into the unknown.
This Emmy-nominated feature film is an intimate and evocative journey into the hearts, minds and eyes of Georgia O’Keeffe, Emily Carr and Frida Kahlo - 3 of the 20th century’s most remarkable artists. The film uses the women’s own words, taken from their letters and diaries, to reveal 3 individual creative processes in all their subtle and fascinating variety.
Pink Ribbons, Inc. is a feature documentary that shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer, which marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause," has been hijacked by a shiny, pink story of success.
There is a disparity between the levels of care provided to white and African-American women with breast cancer in North America. The idea that breast cancer is a death sentence can discourage African-American women from seeking diagnosis and treatment. Breast cancer survivor Karen E. Jackson founded The Sisters Network after discovering there was no national support organization for African-American women with her disease. The organization provides much-needed culturally appropriate resources.
President Reagan’s policies in the 1980s shifted much responsibility for health and welfare in the U.S. from the government to philanthropists. Private corporations began using philanthropy strategically: They assigned glamour to breast cancer and created pink-ribbon products and campaigns to generate positive PR and sales, at home and overseas. Funds raised for the cause are now controlled in large part by private entities—often with vested interests.
For close to a century, radical mastectomy was the only treatment administered to breast cancer patients. In the 1960s and 70s, women with suspected breast cancer were given biopsies and the results were delivered so rapidly that if the diagnosis was cancer, the extreme surgery was performed immediately, while patients were still anaesthetized. Rose Kushner campaigned against this one-step procedure, so breast cancer patients could participate in their own treatment plan.
Breast cancer can kill if it spreads to vital organs. Conventional thinking treats cancer cells as foreign invaders, when in fact they grow within our bodies and need to be researched in context. U.S. grassroots groups formed the National Breast Cancer Coalition in 1991 and launched a National Action Plan with the Clinton administration. Today breast cancer research receives more private than public funding and funding allocation is controversial. Supporting the cause has become more of a feel-good than a militant gesture.
In the 1970s, breast cancer was stigmatized. Celebrities helped change this by speaking out about their experiences with the disease. As public perception shifted, companies realized that supporting the breast cancer cause made them appear women friendly. But many women with the disease objected to the Pink movement, which promotes positive thinking as a critical tool in fighting the disease. They felt an extra burden, having to conceal their anger, sadness and fear in the face of serious illness.
When a company aligns itself with a cause, it creates a more human face and shows its values. Long-term commitment to that cause changes a company’s relationship with its stakeholders and promotes employee loyalty, but it has to be done with authenticity to be successful. When companies put a pink ribbon on their products just to jump on the bandwagon, their message can be lost in a sea of pink ribbons.
Federal standards are designed to protect public health, but currently there is minimal regulation in U.S. federal law for everything from cosmetics to industrial chemicals. In Europe over 1,000 chemicals have been banned; in Canada, over 100—the US has no such blacklist and the (often-carcinogenic) ingredients in fragrances don’t even have to be named on labels. Many cosmetics companies that fundraise for breast cancer research still sell products containing known carcinogens.
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