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Comparative Civilizations (17)

  1. Available in English Options
5 years old
18 years old
  • The Dark Side of the White Lady
    The Dark Side of the White Lady
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    Patricio Henríquez 2006 52 min
    In 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.
  • The Fruit Hunters - Defenders of Diversity (Episode 2)
    The Fruit Hunters - Defenders of Diversity (Episode 2)
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    Yung Chang 2013 43 min
    Narrated by Nature of Things's David Suzuki, Defenders of Diversity is the second part of a journey through the exotic, endlessly fascinating world of fruit - a story of nature, commerce, and obsession. The Fruit Hunters will change not only the way we look at what we eat but how we view our relationship to the natural world.
  • The Fruit Hunters - The Evolution of Desire (Episode 1)
    The Fruit Hunters - The Evolution of Desire (Episode 1)
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    Yung Chang 2013 43 min
    Narrated by Nature of Things's David Suzuki, The Evolution of Desire is the first part of a journey through the exotic, endlessly fascinating world of fruit - a story of nature, commerce, and obsession. The Fruit Hunters will change not only the way we look at what we eat but how we view our relationship to the natural world.
  • The First Emperor of China
    The First Emperor of China
    Tony Ianzelo  &  Liu Hao Xue 1989 42 min
    This 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.
  • The Fruit Hunters
    The Fruit Hunters
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    Yung Chang 2012 1 h 35 min
    Hunting mangoes in Bali, elusive rare durian in Borneo, scouring Renaissance paintings for ancient, lost figs, uncovering the secrets of taste-bud-altering Miracle Fruit: The Fruit Hunters tells a story of adventure, desire and obsession.
  • Hinduism
    Hinduism
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    David Millar 1962 18 min
    In India, the home of most present adherents, this film traces the history of Hinduism, its evolution over the centuries and its connections to Buddhism and Jainism. Shown are the observances of this faith, its teaching of non-violence, its respect for all living things, how the social order created by it has been modified in the modern world to outlaw the declaration of individuals as "untouchables" and to remove limitations on freedom imposed by caste.
  • How to Build an Igloo
    How to Build an Igloo
    Douglas Wilkinson 1949 10 min
    This classic short film shows how to make an igloo using only snow and a knife. Two Inuit men in Canada’s Far North choose the site, cut and place snow blocks and create an entrance--a shelter completed in one-and-a-half hours. The commentary explains that the interior warmth and the wind outside cement the snow blocks firmly together. As the short winter day darkens, the two builders move their caribou sleeping robes and extra skins indoors, confident of spending a snug night in the midst of the Arctic cold!
  • The Hunters (Asivaqtiin)
    The Hunters (Asivaqtiin)
    Mosha Michael 1977 13 min
    Released in 1977, this beautifully paced short was photographed, directed, edited and narrated by Mosha Michael — one of Canada’s first Inuk filmmakers. Michael offers a first-hand account of a three-week Arctic hunting excursion, a rehabilitative trip undertaken by young offenders and their families. Dropping anchor at various points throughout Frobisher Bay, they fish for cod, hunt for seal and caribou, and renew family and community ties. Shooting on a Super 8 camera and providing his own narration, Michael crafts an engaging document of Inuk life in the 1970s. An original score features performances by Kowmageak Arngnakolak and Michael himself.

    Viewer Advisory: This film contains scenes of animal slaughter.
  • How to Build an Igloo (Inuktitut version)
    How to Build an Igloo (Inuktitut version)
    2011 10 min
    This classic short film shows how to make an igloo using only snow and a knife. Two Inuit men in Canada’s Far North choose the site, cut and place snow blocks and create an entrance--a shelter completed in one-and-a-half hours. The commentary explains that the interior warmth and the wind outside cement the snow blocks firmly together. As the short winter day darkens, the two builders move their caribou sleeping robes and extra skins indoors, confident of spending a snug night in the midst of the Arctic cold!

  • Impressions of China
    Impressions of China
    Donald McWilliams 1974 21 min
    This short documentary follows a group of students from Hamilton, Ontario, on a rare three-week “tour” of China in 1972. These teenagers were the first North American students to visit China since 1949, when Mao Tse Tung’s Communists overthrew the Nationalist Government of Chiang Kai-shek.
  • Nigeria: Giant in Africa
    Nigeria: Giant in Africa
    Ronald Dick 1960 58 min
    This 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.
  • Rendezvous Canada, 1606
    Rendezvous Canada, 1606
    Joan Henson 1988 29 min
    The dramatic story of two youths--one French and one Indigenous--who share a pivotal time in Canada's history: the first contact between European and First Nations peoples.
  • Surviving Progress
    Surviving Progress
    Mathieu Roy  &  Harold Crooks 2011 1 h 26 min
    This feature documentary connects the financial collapse, growing inequity and the Wall Street oligarchy with future technology, sustainability, and the fate of civilization itself. Inspired by Ronald Wright's bestseller A Short History of Progress, Surviving Progress digs deep into human nature and patterns of history to challenge and redefine the very idea of progress.
  • Tulku
    Tulku
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    Gesar Mukpo 2009 1 h 15 min
    Gesar Mukpo was three when he became one of the first people born in the West to be recognized as a tulku the present-day reincarnation of a Buddhist master. For his entire life, he's been trying to figure out what that really means. Starting in the mid-1970s, Tibetan teachers including Gesar's father, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche; began recognizing Western children as tulkus. Suddenly, a system that had ensured stable spiritual power and authority in Tibetan society for 800 years was transplanted into a completely different culture. In this intensely personal documentary, Gesar sets out to meet other tulkus to find out how they reconcile modern and ancient, East and West. Journeying through Canada, the United States, India and Nepal, he encounters four other tulkus who struggle with the meaning of this profound dilemma. What does it mean to carry on this ancient tradition designed for an old world when you're living in a completely new one? How will Gesar and other Western tulkus fulfill their destiny? Tulku was produced as part of the Reel Diversity Competition for emerging filmmakers of colour. Reel Diversity is a National Film Board of Canada initiative in partnership with CBC Newsworld.
  • The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life
    The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life
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    Yukari Hayashi  &  Barrie McLean 1994 45 min
    This two-part series explores ancient teachings on death and dying. It was filmed over a four-month period on location in the Himalayas where the original text still yields an essential influence over people's views of life and death. A Way of Life contains footage of the rites and liturgies surrounding and following the death of a Ladakhi elder. The Dalai Lama explains his own feelings about death, while other scenes within a palliative care hospice in San Francisco depicts the use of the texts to counsel dying AIDS patients. This film, by revealing ancient teachings on how to think about death and dying, can be a valuable source of counsel and comfort.
  • The Van Doos in Afghanistan - The Patrol
    The Van Doos in Afghanistan - The Patrol
    Claude Guilmain 2011 4 min
    The Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment.

    In this clip, we follow Captain Stéphane Guillemette on the ground as he conducts daily searches for improvised explosive devices or hidden insurgent weapons caches. Conducting daily patrols of the Panjwaye district demands constant vigilance.
  • The Van Doos in Afghanistan - Mission Accomplished
    The Van Doos in Afghanistan - Mission Accomplished
    Claude Guilmain 2011 4 min
    The Van Doos in Afghanistan is a documentary that propels you directly into the heart of the action among the soldiers serving with the Royal 22e Régiment. In this clip, Lieutenant-Colonel Michel-Henri St-Louis and Major François Dufault take stock of the progress that has been made since the beginning of the military intervention in Afghanistan. While being realistic and aware of the fragility of the situation, they are, nevertheless proud of the work that has been accomplished by Canada`s armed forces.