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World History (70)
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23 SkidooJulian Biggs 1964 8 minThis short black-and-white film shows eerie scenes of a downtown without people. The effect is disturbing. The camera shoots familiar urban scenes, without a soul in sight: streets empty, buildings empty, yet everywhere there is evidence of recent life and activity. At the end of the film we learn what has happened. -
BalablokBretislav Pojar 1972 7 minBretislav Pojar's animated short explores the human phenomenon of resorting to violence over reason. The cubes live happily amongst themselves until one of them encounters a ball. War erupts and they fight until they all become the same again – this time in the form of hexagons. All is right in the world until one of them stumbles upon a triangle… Winner of the 1973 Grand Prix du Festival for Short Film at the International Film Festival in Cannes.
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Black SoulMartine Chartrand 2000 9 minMartine Chartrand’s animated short dives into the heart of Black culture with an exhilarating trip though history. Watch as a young boy traces his roots through the stories his grandmother shares with him about the events that shaped their cultural heritage.
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Battle of Europe1944 15 minThe story of air power over Europe that shows how night saturation raids by British and Canadian squadrons were coordinated with daylight precision bombing by American air forces during World War II.
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BethuneDonald Brittain 1964 58 minThis feature documentary is a biography of Dr. Norman Bethune, the Canadian doctor who served with the loyalists during the Spanish Civil War and with the North Chinese Army during the Sino-Japanese War. In Spain he pioneered the world's first mobile blood-transfusion service; in China his work behind battle lines to save the wounded has made him a legendary figure.
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The Back-breaking LeafTerence Macartney-Filgate 1959 29 minHere is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
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Blue VanguardIan MacNeill 1957 1 h 0 minA film made for the United Nations to chronicle its role in restoring peace in the Middle East after the Suez Crisis of October 1956.
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China 2000 BC - Unearthing the Truth Behind a Myth: The Xia DynastyWally Longul , Takayoshi Aizawa , … 2013 45 minBetween 2000 B.C. and 221 B.C., many civilizations developed in the area now known as China and each had its own distinct language, culture and gods. This series unveils remarkable new archaeological discoveries that provide clues about how exactly these civilizations merged into one Chinese culture over the course of several centuries.
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Catapult CanadaBill Maylone 1985 1 minThis short stop-motion animation takes a humorous look at the theme of transportation. Forget trains and planes—the best way to get across the country is by catapult!
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China 2000 BC - The Rise and Fall of Dynasties in Ancient ChinaWally Longul , Takayoshi Aizawa , … 2013 45 minBetween 2000 B.C. and 221 B.C., many civilizations developed in the area now known as China and each had its own distinct language, culture and gods. This series unveils remarkable new archaeological discoveries that provide clues about how exactly these civilizations merged into one Chinese culture over the course of several centuries.
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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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CalliopeTony Ianzelo 1980 2 minA vignette on the travelling calliope (also known as steam organ), a musical instrument that produces sound by sending steam through large locomotive whistles.
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City Out of TimeColin Low 1959 15 minThis Colin Low documentary from 1959 depicts Venice in all its splendor. In the tradition of Venetian painter Canaletto, the film captures the great Italian city’s elusive beauty and fabled landscapes, where spired churches and turreted palaces soar into a blue Mediterranean sky. Narration by William Shatner.
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The EggJean-François Pouliot & Robert Bélisle 1979 1 minIn this animated short from the Canada Vignette series, learn how societies in evolution are often in danger of self-destruction.
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Canada Between Two World Wars1963 21 minA vivid review of life in Canada between the end of WW I and the beginning of WW II. Students of Canadian history will gain a new awareness of the people and events that made these 20 years such an important part of the growth of the country. Here were years of prosperity followed by the years of the Great Depression, as Canada went through a severe maturing process.
While political, economic and social changes are emphasized, they are viewed against the total life of the Canadian people. For those who lived during this era, the film is full of nostalgia and reminiscence; for younger Canadians, however, it offers an eye-opening glimpse of Canada's past. (Abridged version of Between Two Wars series.) -
China Mission: The Chester Ronning StoryTom Radford 1980 57 minTom Radford's documentary chronicles the life of Chester Ronning, best remembered for his close and longstanding relationship with China. Over the course of his life, Ronning worked as a cowboy, ambassador, college president, missionary and a member of the Alberta legislature. But throughout all of his careers, his lifelong ambition was to explain China to the western world. His story is a rare example of the meeting of East and West in a compassionate, remarkable man.
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Chile, Obstinate MemoryPatricio Guzmán 1997 58 minIn this feature documentary, a Chilean filmmaker returns to the motherland for the first time in 23 years. Time is passing. A generation of young Chileans has grown up with no knowledge of the facts surrounding the military coup of September 11, 1973. In his suitcase, The Battle of Chile his 3-part cinéma vérité chronicle of the political tensions in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counterrevolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. His documentary toured the world but was never seen in Chile. Discreetly, he shows it to his friends and a small group of students. After the screening, the young people are in a state of shock. They have an urgent need to know the truth, for it is they who must build the Chile of tomorrow. In Spanish with English subtitles
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Double HeritageRichard Gilbert 1959 30 minThis documentary from the Salute to Flight series links the barnstormers and bush pilots who explored Canada's vast hinterland with the aviation heroes who flew the Bolingbrokes, Ansons, Mosquitoes and Hurricanes of World War II.
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Death by Moonlight: Bomber CommandBrian McKenna 1991 1 h 44 minThis feature-length documentary focuses on the Canadian pilots who served in the air force bomber command in Britain during World War II. From the outset, it was clear to Britain that air combat would be the key factor in the battle against Hitler's Germany. Told they would be targeting factories and military targets, the airmen were actually ordered to drop their payloads on civilians in an attempt to annihilate the enemy. Using interviews, re-enactments, old footage and photographs, Brian McKenna's film depicts the war from the perspective of the pilots.
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The Dark Side of the White LadyPatricio Henríquez 2006 52 minIn this feature-length documentary, filmmaker Patricio Henriquez seeks to untangle the web of lies surrounding the Chilean navy's training vessel, the Esmeralda. Heralded as a symbol of national pride, a dark secret lies behind the facade of the ship the Chileans call The White Lady: Following the 1973 coup d'état, it was used as a floating prison. Thirty years later, the victims of the dictatorship are demanding justice. The Dark Side of the White Lady is a fascinating journey to uncover the truth.
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DeyzangerooEhsan Gharib 2017 4 min“Deyzangeroo” is a ritual performed in the Iranian port city of Bushehr. Influenced by the city’s colonial rule by the British and Portuguese, and the African slaves that followed, it is imbued with the terror and magic of the lunar eclipse. The ritual is believed to ward off evil spirits and take back the moon. It works every time. Directed by Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Ehsan Gharib, this animated short features hand-painted animation, time-lapse photography, trick photography using mirrors, and the haunting music of virtuoso percussionist Habib Meftah Boushehri.
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"E"Bretislav Pojar & Francine Desbiens 1981 6 minUnder the guise of a pretty fairy tale, this animated short makes a strong political statement. Animated paper cut-outs enact a drama in which a dictator imposes his delusions on his unfortunate subjects. The humour is black and, despite the absence of dialogue, the message is crystal clear.
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Exile - A Myth UnearthedIlan Ziv 2012 1 h 37 minThis feature documentary looks at new evidence that suggests the majority of the Jewish people may not have been exiled following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem and the catacombs of Rome, the film asks us to rethink our ideas about an event that has played a critical role in the Christian and Jewish traditions.
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Exile - A Myth Unearthed (BBC Version)Ilan Ziv 2013 59 minIt has been depicted in artwork and lamented in poetry and prayer for nearly 2,000 years: the exile of the Jewish people from their homeland in the first century AD, following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
But what if the exile never happened?
That is the central, provocative question of Exile: A Myth Unearthed, a documentary that looks at the exile through the lenses of archaeology, history, myth and religion, asking what it means for our understanding of history and the contemporary struggle over land in the Middle East.
Since 1985, teams of archaeologists have been painstakingly unearthing artifacts from the ancient town of Sepphoris, in Galilee. Their findings are revolutionizing our knowledge of Jewish history.
Exile travels from Sepphoris to Masada, from Jerusalem to the catacombs of Rome, and features interviews with leading historians and archaeologists. Throughout the film we also follow a group of tourists visiting sites in the Holy Land and hear the traditional interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada—an interpretation which stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence.
The issues raised in Exile are of more than passing historical interest. The myth of exile is an essential narrative in Middle Eastern and European history, and of critical importance to both Christian and Jewish theology. And the possibility that many Jews, such as those of Sepphoris, simply remained where they lived, raises uncomfortable questions. Could some Palestinians actually be their descendants?
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Freelancer on the Front LinesSantiago Bertolino 2016 1 h 38 minThis fast-paced documentary follows Canadian freelance reporter Jesse Rosenfeld’s journey across the Middle East. Having made the region the focus of his work, he shows us the thorny geopolitical realities on the ground and explores how journalism practices have changed in the age of the Internet. From Egypt to Turkey and Iraq by way of Israel and Palestine, filmmaker Santiago Bertolino captures the ups and downs of a new kind of journalism in action.
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Food, Weapon of ConquestStuart Legg 1941 22 minThis 1940s wartime newsreel shows the food shortage in Nazi-occupied countries that have been forced to hand over their farm produce to Germany, leaving their own populations hungry. Part of the Canada Carries On series.
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The First Emperor of ChinaTony Ianzelo & Liu Hao Xue 1989 42 minThis historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China’s vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb. The First Emperor of China was shot entirely in IMAX.
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Geopolitik - Hitler's Plan for EmpireStuart Legg 1942 20 minHitler planned to dominate the world. A major factor in his thinking was the geopolitical theory of Karl Haushofer. (Released under the title Hitler's Plan in the World in Action series.)
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Gene Boy Came HomeAlanis Obomsawin 2007 24 minThis short documentary by celebrated filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin is a portrait of Eugene "Gene Boy" (pronounced Genie Boy) Benedict, from Odanak Indian Reserve (near Montreal, Quebec). At 17, he enlisted in the US Marines and was sent to the frontlines of the Vietnam War. This film is the account of his 2 years of service and his long journey back to Odanak afterwards.
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High WireClaude Guilmain 2019 1 h 22 minHigh Wire examines the reasons that Canada declined to take part in the 2003 US-led military mission in Iraq, shining a spotlight on the diplomatic tug of war that took place behind the scenes with our neighbours to the south, who have often adopted an interventionist foreign policy to serve their own economic and geopolitical interests. Canada’s historic refusal could have had disastrous consequences, but a number of key players and other analysts remind us of the terrible price we pay when diplomacy fails.
