The Taxi Driver

This short documentary examines the complex range of issues affecting urban transport in developing countries. After examining cost and available technology, as well as the different needs of the industrialized middle class and the urban poor, the film proposes some surprising solutions.

This short animated film takes an amusing look at city dwellers' obsessive dependence on the automobile. Just as he does every morning, a man is preparing to jump into his car and head off to work when the remote control gizmo refuses to cooperate. The key won't unlock the door! Some helpful passersby suggest several solutions, but our stubborn hero turns a deaf ear. Will he get to work on time?

This feature documentary studies one of the city’s most visible yet most anonymous character: the taxi driver. Filmed by day and night, the film offers an entertaining and sometimes comical look at the drivers, fleet operators and dispatchers who are expected to deliver passengers, parcels… and even babies.

This short documentary features acclaimed author and activist Jane Jacobs' forthright, critical analysis of the problems and virtues of North American cities. Jacobs orients her fascinating observations around Toronto, to which she moved after leaving New York City because Toronto "is a city that still has options ... it hasn't made so many mistakes that it's bound to go downhill.” Her remarks, made in 1971, are prescient yet earnest and will interest all urban stakeholders. This colourful city film, accompanied by an upbeat, jazzy soundtrack, is a must-see for all civic and community groups—indeed, for all urban dwellers worldwide.

This short film is a portrait of Montreal as seen from a local radio station's traffic helicopter. Freeways, interchanges, bridges and downtown arteries are laid out in miniature. A seething, teeming spectacle, this film presents a unique view of the city with comments by the traffic guide, Len Rowcliffe.

Claude Léveillée expresses the frustrations of a taxi driver steering his vehicle through the obstacle course of downtown traffic. Accelerated camera action heightens the fury and the frenzy.

This feature documentary studies the automobile and its pervasive effect on the history of North America. Focusing on the Ford dynasty, from the original Henry car through to Henry II, the film demonstrates how society has adapted to fit the needs of the automobile.

The NFB's 22nd Oscar®-nominated film.

This animated short proposes what many earthlings have long feared – that the automobile has inherited the planet. When life on Earth is portrayed as one long, unending conga-line of cars, a crew of extra-terrestrial visitors understandably assume they are the dominant race. While humans, on the other hand, are merely parasites. An Oscar® nominee, this film serves as an entertaining case study.

After repeated attempts to obtain service from the public transportation authorities, these suburban Ottawa residents finally decided to do it themselves. In this short film from the early 1970s, we watch as a group of Ottawa residents take action after getting the runaround from local transport authorities. The suburban residents had made numerous attempts to obtain bus service, but with much frustration and no success. Tired of waiting on the authorities, they decided to sort it out for themselves.

The NFB's 7th Oscar®-nominated film.

A light-hearted animated short about how Canada's vast distances and great obstacles were overcome by settlers. The story is told with a tongue-in-cheek seriousness and takes us from the intrepid trailblazers of long ago to the aircraft of today and tomorrow. A 1953 Cartoon Short Subject Oscar®-nominee.

This funny yet serious short film demonstrates the effectiveness of advertising and the marketing machine. Its comic appeal lies in the characters and the absurd situations they find themselves in, but it also shines a harsh light on our tendency towards needless consumerism prompted by a steady flow of commercials.