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Canada 1867-1914 (14)

  1. Available in English Options
5 years old
18 years old
  • 54 Hours
    54 Hours
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    Bruce Alcock  &  Paton Francis 2014 13 min
    This short animation is a remarkably vivid account of the 1914 tragedy in which 132 men were stranded on the ice during a severe snowstorm off the coast of Newfoundland. 78 men froze to death on the pack ice. In the spring of 1914, the last of the wooden seal hunting ships in a steel-dominated industry was the Newfoundland, manned by men from across the province. The ship was unable to reach a seal pack due to its lack of ice-breaking power, and 132 men were ordered off the boat and onto the ice to hunt. The ship had no radio equipment, and the men spent two unbearable nights on the ice. Survivor testimony, striking archival materials, weather visualizations, inventive animation and puppetry are seamlessly blended to recreate this harrowing ordeal.
  • Blackwood
    Blackwood
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    Tony Ianzelo  &  Andy Thomson 1976 27 min
    This short film studies the works of one of Canada's greatest contemporary etchers - Newfoundland-born David Blackwood. The artist himself guides viewers through a step-by-step explanation of the etching process. Scenes of his hometown, examples of his own work and vivid tales of an old mariner recall the tragic seal hunts and a way of life that has now vanished.
  • City of Gold
    City of Gold
    Colin Low  &  Wolf Koenig 1957 21 min
    This classic short film from Pierre Berton depicts the Klondike gold rush at its peak, when would-be prospectors struggled through harsh conditions to reach the fabled gold fields over 3000 km north of civilization. Using a collection of still photographs, the film juxtaposes the Dawson City at the height of the gold rush with its bustling taverns and dance halls with the more tranquil Dawson City of the present.
  • Charles Tupper: The Big Man
    Charles Tupper: The Big Man
    Morten Parker 1961 28 min
    This short historical reenactment is a portrait of Canadian Father of Confederation Charles Tupper. The film harks back to a time when the idea of a federal union was still hotly debated, when it was unclear whether Nova Scotia would come in or remain out. It studies a bigger-than-life politician who won over both his bitterest opponent, Joseph Howe, and the people of this Maritime province, to finally lead Nova Scotia into the Canadian Confederation in 1867.
  • Freedom Had a Price
    Freedom Had a Price
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    Yurij Luhovy 1994 55 min
    A disturbing documentary of Canada's first national alien-internment operation. It tells the little-known story of Ukrainian immigrants who found themselves subject to discriminatory and repressive measures during World War I.
  • George-Étienne Cartier: The Lion of Québec
    George-Étienne Cartier: The Lion of Québec
    John Howe 1962 27 min
    This short biopic profiles Montreal lawyer-turned-politician George-Étienne Cartier as he campaigns to unite English and French Canada under Confederation. The political world of a century ago comes to life as we hear debates in the Parliament of Upper and Lower Canada amidst political strife and personal feuds. Ultimately, Cartier skilfully allays the fears of party and sectional leaders, convincing them that federal union would protect, rather than weaken, Quebec’s cherished rights of language and religion. The eloquent and enigmatic Cartier was instrumental in shaping the Canada that was soon to emerge.
  • John A. Macdonald: The Impossible Idea
    John A. Macdonald: The Impossible Idea
    Gordon Burwash 1961 27 min
    This short fiction film tells the story of John A. MacDonald’s rise to power. Canada’s first Prime Minister and one of the Fathers of the Confederation, MacDonald didn’t enjoy an easy political career. When he first shared his vision of a Dominion reaching from sea to sea – an audacious proposal regarded as uncertain even by his supporters – his opponents derided him. “The fox is out of tricks," they taunted. "Bankrupt of ideas, he offers us clouds." This film offers us a memorable flashback
  • John Ware Reclaimed
    John Ware Reclaimed
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    Cheryl Foggo 2020 1 h 12 min
    Please note: This film contains explicit language. Viewer discretion is advised.

    John Ware Reclaimed follows filmmaker Cheryl Foggo on her quest to re-examine the mythology surrounding John Ware, the Black cowboy who settled in Alberta, Canada, before the turn of the 20th century. Foggo’s research uncovers who this iconic figure might have been, and what his legacy means in terms of anti-Black racism, both past and present.
  • The New Schoolteacher
    The New Schoolteacher
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    Jocelyn Rehder 1995 9 min
    The New Schoolteacher describes the life of Ella, a young teacher in the 1850s. Not much older than the senior students in her charge, she is responsible for everything in the school from teaching all grades, all subjects, to discipline and housekeeping. It is a difficult job but Ella proves that she can do it and starts a baseball team too.
  • The Railrodder
    The Railrodder
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    Gerald Potterton 1965 24 min
    This short film from director Gerald Potterton (Heavy Metal) stars Buster Keaton in one of the last films of his long career. As "the railrodder", Keaton crosses Canada from east to west on a railway track speeder. True to Keaton's genre, the film is full of sight gags as our protagonist putt-putts his way to British Columbia. Not a word is spoken throughout, and Keaton is as spry and ingenious at fetching laughs as he was in the old days of the silent slapsticks.
  • Remembrance Day Virtual Classroom
    Remembrance Day Virtual Classroom
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    Dan Thornhill 2016 24 min
    The National Film Board of Canada, in collaboration with the Canadian War Museum, OHASSTA, and the Royal Canadian Legion present a recitation of John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” to mark the 100-year anniversary of this iconic war poem. One of Canada’s leading film, television and stage actors, R.H. Thomson, will read the poem and moderate the event. Afterwards there is a lively panel discussion, based on your questions, featuring R.H. Thomson, WWI historian Melanie Morin-Pelletier and Master Corporal Martin Rouleau, Medical Technician. This landmark event will underpin the importance of remembrance and explore the relevance of McCrae’s poem in our times.
  • Strangers at the Door
    Strangers at the Door
    John Howe 1977 28 min
    This drama tells the harrowing story of an immigrant family in the New World. On arrival in Canada, their hopes for a better life were dashed when immigration officials refused to grant entry to their daughter. During a routine medical examination it was found that Kasia had contracted an infectious eye disease. She is separated from her family and sent back to Europe alone.
  • Teach Me to Dance
    Teach Me to Dance
    Anne Wheeler 1978 28 min
    In this drama, Lesia convinces her English-Canadian friend Sarah to perform a Ukrainian dance with her as part of their school's Christmas pageant. Sarah's father, angry at the growing number of Ukrainian settlers, won't allow his daughter to participate. Despite the prejudices of their parents, the girls' friendship remains strong, and they meet in Sarah's barn to celebrate Christmas Day together. Part of the Adventures in History series.
  • Women on the March
    Women on the March
    Douglas Tunstell 1958 58 min
    This feature film in two parts is an exploration of the women’s suffrage movement. Spearheaded by women like Emmeline Pankhurst, founder of the Women's Social and Political Union, the Suffragettes realized they would have to become radical and militant if the movement was going to be effective. There followed many demonstrations, and imprisonments until the women’s vote was finally granted, in 1918 (Britain) and 1919 (Canada, except Quebec.)