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Physical Geography/Geology (28)
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Air - ClimateMichel Barbeau 2000 19 minThis documentary takes us on a visual tour of Canada's extreme weather and climate. The film is part of the Transit series, which explores Canada's natural landscape, from the humid rainforests of British Columbia, to the desert-like badlands of Alberta; from the frosty Arctic where no trees grow, to the fertile farmland of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region. -
Beautiful Lennard IslandBeverly Shaffer 1977 23 minThis short documentary introduces us to Lennard Island, a tiny island near Tofino, British Columbia, and the family of 4 who are its sole occupants. There we meet the lightkeeper’s son, Steven Thomas Holland, age 10, and his father, mother and brother. A gracious host and great fan of his island home, the boy takes us on a tour and dispels any ideas that living in isolation might be boring. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
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Bones & BoatsKevin Langdale 2004 1 minThis short animated tale of Victorian-era folly ends in tragedy. Kevin Langdale's graphic style brims with the majesty of human ambition and the indomitable and sometimes destructive power of the natural world.
Produced as part of the second edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Caribou of Northern Canada1971 13 minThis nature documentary looks at the Barren Ground caribou of Canada's vast northern tundra. This film observes the life cycle and environment of the caribou.
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Churchill's IslandStuart Legg 1941 22 minIt presents the strategy of the Battle of Britain, showing with penetrating clarity the relationships between the various forces made up the island's defenses. Here is the Royal Air Force in its epic battle with the Luftwaffe, the Navy in its stubborn fight against the raiders of sea and sky, the coastal defenses, the mechanized cavalry, the merchant seamen and behind them all, Britain's tough, unbending civilian army.
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Continental DriftCo Hoedeman 1968 9 minAnimated film explains the theory that Earth's land areas are fluid and that, in the process of a slow, rolling, boiling motion, one part of the Earth might well be engulfed and then rise again some distance away, much the same as froth on a kettle of soup. From this theory comes the idea that continents were formed from one super-continent that broke up, whose pieces sank, and then rose once more, but far apart. Introducing the film is Professor J. Tuzo Wilson, geophysicist, University of Toronto.
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Canada the LandRex Tasker & Jean-Claude Labrecque 1971 7 minFilmed for the most part from a low-flying aircraft, this documentary short presents a breathtaking view of Canada from coast to coast. Showing the varied terrain, from craggy coast to towering glacier, the film illustrates Canada’s pristine wilderness as well as today's industrial and urban realities.
Canada the Land was specially commissioned for the Canada Pavilion at the Osaka World Fair in 1970. -
Cry of the WildBill Mason 1972 1 h 28 minThis feature-length documentary from Bill Mason imparts his affection for the big northern timber wolves and the pure-white Arctic wolves. Filmed over three years in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, the High Arctic and his home near the Gatineau Hills in Quebec, Mason sets out to dispel the myth of the bloodthirsty wolf. Going beyond the wolf's natural habitat, Mason relocated three young wolves to his own property and was able to film tribal customs, mating and birth. As a result, Cry of the Wild offers viewers access to moments in wildlife never before seen on film.
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Cactus SwingBeth Portman & Susan Crandall 1995 5 minBased on a song by the Great Western Orchestra, this animated short traces the adventures of Pete, the North West Mounted Police officer who is awakened in the badlands by a varmint band and witnesses a cactus line dance.
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Skier1978 2 minIn this short vignette, skier Kathy Kreiner prepares for and participates in her Olympic gold-medal race at Innsbruck.
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David Thompson: The Great MapmakerBernard Devlin 1964 28 minThis short film recreates the story of David Thompson – a man who, over the course of his lifetime, mapped a-million-and-a-half square miles of uncharted territory. His achievement remains unsurpassed.
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Distant IslandsBettina Maylone 1981 6 minThis short animation uses appliqué and embroidered tapestries to recall a young girl's happy summers spent sailing with her family off the coast of British Columbia. Each tapestry, meticulously stitched by hand with brightly coloured yarns, evokes the memory of leisurely days at sea, drifting among the islands.
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Face of the EarthBill Mason 1975 17 minFace of the Earth explores the origin of our planet's outer layer, the why-and-how of its mobility. Through the use of well-designed diagrams, the earth's cyclical activity is clearly explained. Some unusual footage on volcanoes gives added punch to an already absorbing subject.
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High Arctic: Life on the LandDalton Muir 1958 21 minAn ecological study of plant and animal life on the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the Canadian Arctic. The film includes profiles of animals such as musk-oxen, lemmings, arctic hares and various forms of plant life.
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The Impossible MapEvelyn Lambart 1947 10 minDevelopment in long-range travel and the growing importance of the Arctic and Antarctic regions make it necessary to understand how maps may be misleading. Experiments with a grapefruit illustrate the difficulty of presenting a true picture of the world on a flat surface and it is concluded that the globe is the most accurate way of representing the earth.
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Julie O'BrienBeverly Shaffer 1981 18 minThis short film depicts Newfoundland’s “old times” as seen by Julie O’Brien, an 11-year-old living in Tors Cove. Told in the first person with cutaway shots to the girl’s many activities, the film illustrates the way traditions are maintained, remembered and evolved. This film is part of the Children of Canada series.
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KluaneMarc Hébert & Roger Rochat 1981 57 minKluane National Park is situated in the Yukon area of northern Canada and is a research paradise for glaciologists, geologists and other scientists. Mountaineers come to scale the impressive heights. Animals are free to roam, protected by stringent legislation. This film reveals many facets of this beautiful park, which has been declared a protected zone by UNESCO,
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The LandRex Tasker & Jean-Claude Labrecque 1969 8 minThis film presents a breath-taking view of Canada from coast to coast. Besides showing the varied terrain, from craggy coast to towering glacier, the film illustrates something of the development of the land from its virgin state to today's intense and complex industrial exploitation. Filmed for the most part from a low-flying aircraft, there is evidence of space everywhere: in the caribou streaming across the snowy tundra, in the serried ranges of the Pacific mountains, in the distant horizons of lakes and seas, and in the spacious grain fields of the prairies. Equal to the grandiose natural scenes are the projects of Canadian industry, such as Quebec's great Manicouagan power dam, and the endless ribbon of the Trans-Canada Highway. This view of the land is surprising in its diversity.
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Life on IceWilliam Hansen 1986 27 minThis documentary film focuses on the animal life that survives in this harsh arctic climates at the edge of the ice - from the simple algae to narwhals, polar bears, sea birds, seals, whales and walruses.
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MudNeal Moignard 2014 1 minChildren guide the audience through a vision of shifting digital polygons in this CGI take of the beloved NFB classic Helicopter Canada.
Produced as part of the 10th edition of the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship. -
Nigeria: Giant in AfricaRonald Dick 1960 58 minThis feature documentary vividly recounts Nigeria's history from pre-European times to the mid-20th century. The film explores the political maturing of Africa's most populous country and depicts the various African cultures that make up the Federation of Nigeria.
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Postcards from Canada2000 41 minSweeping in from the frozen vistas of the Arctic to the frenzy of rush-hour traffic, from deep within the Canadian Shield to the orbiting Radarsat satellite, Postcards from Canada takes us on a whimsical trip through this magnificent nation. Narrated by Peter Gzowski, this film shows us the wonder of the wilderness, the impact of Canadians on the land and the ingenuity we have shown in turning huge obstacles into advantages.
Shot in stunning 35 mm, Postcards from Canada updates the popular 1967 film Helicopter Canada with breathtaking images and aerial photography. And like postcards themselves, these snapshots of Canada are tantalizing glimpses that will make you "wish you were here"--and be glad that you are. -
The Rise and Fall of the Great LakesBill Mason 1968 16 minIn this short documentary from conservationist Bill Mason, he illustrates that although the Great Lakes have had their ups and downs, nothing has been harder to take than what humans have done to them lately. In the film, a lone canoeist lives through the changes of geological history, through Ice Age and flood, only to find himself in the end trapped in a sea of scum.
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Shining Mountains - The Ancient OnesGuy Clarkson 2005 47 minThis documentary from the Shining Mountains series follows mountain guide, pilot and cinematographer Guy Clarkson on an ecological journey through the Rockies. Clarkson explores the area’s rock, ice, flora and fauna, which have, for eons, adjusted without complaint to every fluctuation in the natural order of things. Since the arrival of Europeans, however, the damage to ecosystems and tribes alike has approached a point of no return. From the glaciers of the Columbia Ice Fields, to the wolf packs of Yellowstone National Park, to the sacred hunting grounds of the Blackfoot nations, Clarkson finds perspective in the wisdom of the experts and elders who know this region best.
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The Sweetest Embrace: Return to AfghanistanNajeeb Mirza 2008 1 h 14 minThis full-length documentary tells the story of 2 Afghans who return to Afghanistan in search of their families after a 16-year exile. Like many Afghan children, Soorgul and Amir were sent to Tajikistan during the Soviet occupation of their country. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the civil wars that broke out on both sides of the border left the children stranded, unable to leave the country until Canada accepted them as refugees.
The Sweetest Embrace tells an intimate story set against one of the world's most harsh and yet beautiful landscapes, in a land where life has been shaped by war and hardship but where spirit remains resilient. -
Up the YangtzeYung Chang 2007 1 h 33 minThis award-winning documentary follows the Shiu family as their home is destroyed by the rising waters of China’s Yangtze River - a consequence of the Three Gorges Project, the largest hydroelectric dam in history.
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The Underground MovieLes Drew 1972 14 minEveryone has wondered what it would be like to dig right through to the other side of the Earth. This animated short takes that notion one step further. Here, the probe is accomplished by an ingenious machine dubbed Old Chucknose, which with the help of amazing gadgetry, bores through every layer of the Earth’s crust and centre.
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White-Whale Hunters of Anse-Aux-BasquesRené Bonnière & Pierre Perrault 1960 29 minOn the North Shore of the St. Lawrence, the Otis family hunts for white whales and seals with rusty old rifles in hand-crafted boats. This is the traditional method of the Basque whalers who frequented the coast in the 16th century.
