Soccer

This feature documentary follows one of the greatest Canadian baseball players of all time, Ferguson Jenkins, through the 1972-1973 season. From the hope and innocence of spring training to the dog days of an August slump, the camera gets up close and personal at the home plate and records the intimate chatter on the mound, in the dugout and in the locker room. It provides a glimpse into the rewards and pressures of sports stardom and the easy camaraderie of the quintessential summer sport.

This feature documentary uses animation, archival stills and live-action footage to detail the history of women's participation in the largely male-dominated world of baseball and softball. Zany and affectionate, it features 7-year-olds learning the rules and skills of the game and 50-year-olds hitting home runs, from the early days of the Bloomer Girls to the heyday of the Colorado Silver Bullets.

For more background information on this film, please visit the NFB.ca blog.

This short film highlights how the sport of lacrosse, which has changed little over time, is regaining popularity. Watch how the game is played, how lacrosse sticks are made by Mohawks at a factory in Cornwall, and how the Canadian Lacrosse Association helps instruct teams.

This short documentary focuses on the offence play required for the sport of lacrosse. It makes up the first part of a two-part series of training films for those interested in mastering the sport. The film uses close-ups, slow-motion, and stop-motion techniques to clearly illustrate tricks and moves that might otherwise be missed during a live demonstration.

This short documentary focuses on the defensive play required for the sport of lacrosse. Combined with Part One: Offence, these two films make up a complete training guide for those interested in the sport. The films use close-ups, slow-motion, and stop-motion techniques to clearly illustrate tricks and moves that might otherwise be missed during a live demonstration.

This short documentary from the On the Spot series - “National Film Board’s up-to-the-minute report of what’s happening somewhere in Canada” – invites us to visit the Edmonton Eskimos football team on their home ground. Host Fred Davis introduce us to some of the team’s key players and interviews its 28-year-old coach, Darrell Royal, a firm believer in the use of moving pictures in the coaching of modern football.

In this short documentary, award-winning filmmaker Annie Frazier Henry follows an elite handful of Indigenous athletes from British Columbia for two years as they make their way to the 2002 North American Indigenous Games in Winnipeg. Over 6,000 young sportsmen and women from across Canada and the US compete in the games, and this film serves as a tribute to their hard work, dedication, and achievements.

This short documentary follows the 11th St-Laurent long-distance bicycle race held in Quebec in the summer of 1964. There, participants from 13 countries covered 2 400 km of Gaspé countryside in 12 days--a course longer than those of Italy, Belgium or Spain. With the curving landscape of this most picturesque province as backdrop, you see here a sports event where the challenge seems more personal than competitive.

In this feature-length documentary, director Paul Jay was given unprecedented access to the world of Bret Hart and pro wrestling as his camera followed Bret "the Hitman" Hart for one year. Going behind the tightly guarded walls of wrestling's spectacle and theatre, the film explores the meaning of today's wrestling morality plays. As fantasy crosses into real life, the true story of Bret Hart's struggle with Vince McMahon, the legendary owner of the WWE, is revealed. Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows climaxes with the tale of the biggest double-cross in pro wrestling.

This documentary by director Paul Cowan is about four athletes and a team that competed in the 1976 Olympics. They had trained courageously to be among those who would mount the podium to receive a medal. None of them did, but was it worth the effort? I'll Go Again answers the question.

This short film is a condensed version of our feature documentary Mighty Jerome, made especially for elementary and middle-school classes. Canadian athlete Harry Jerome overcame racism to reach the height of track-and-field success. When an injury ended his career, Jerome continued training and went on to achieve one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.