Zab Maboungou

This short sensory film explores the internal process of Alexina Louie, whose unique sound has established her as one of Canada’s most performed and highly regarded composers.

From SCTV and Home Alone to Best in ShowSchitt’s Creek, Catherine O’Hara collaborates with fellow performers throughout her legendary career to take comedy to new heights.

A portrait of Lynda Hamilton, dedicated and tireless supporter of Canadian performing arts, directed by Claude Guilmain.

The soul of the Innu language is the land, water and forests of the fast-disappearing caribou. Through his music, Florent Vollant continues to make this language heard around the world.

A moving portrait of actress Tantoo Cardinal, travelling through time and across the many roles she’s played, capturing her strength and her impact—and how she shattered the glass ceiling and survived.

Ryan Reynolds reflects on his childhood, family and career—punctuated by diversions into the charitable side of Twitter to appeal to his Canadian sense of self.

A short documentary essay on solitude, filmed in Spanish and narrated by filmmaker Rosana Matecki, Saturday Night offers a poetic and bittersweet snapshot of aging in an urban setting, viewed through the lens of dance. An immersive soundscape and a delicate tempo set the mood for this intimate exploration of resilience and nostalgia.

Through a duet of poetry and self-reflection, choreographer Crystal Pite finds language to describe the wordless artform of dance. Glimpses into a rehearsal for her acclaimed work Revisor combined with images of natural and industrial forms, mirror the states of tension and connection within the human body.

This short film pays tribute to ballet dancer Anik Bissonnette as she takes the reins of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec. Having dazzled audiences for decades with her astounding talent, she now teaches the rigorous fundamentals and secrets of movement that underlie her art. Bissonnette's grace is reflected through the mirror of time. As we watch the steps and movements of the young dancers she has inspired, we realize that we are witnessing the most beautiful of dances—the transmission of knowledge.

This film was produced by the NFB in co-operation with the National Arts Centre and the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation on the occasion of the 2014 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards.

This short documentary profiles the traditional music and pageantry of Polish-Canadians in Manitoba. The heritage and national traditions of Poland were brought to Canada by immigrants and sustained across generations. The colourful traditional dress and lively music of Polish-Canadians is captured by ethnomusicologist Laura Boulton, a pioneering woman in the educational documentary film movement whose goal was to “capture, absorb, and bring back the world’s music.”

When Mavis Staines took the helm of Canada’s National Ballet School in 1989, the pedagogy of ballet was due for an evolution. Driven by a belief system that honoured tradition but challenged outdated practices, Staines set in motion a paradigm shift that has transformed ballet training in Canada and around the world.