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Arts and Artists (31)

  • 645 Wellington
    645 Wellington
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    Kaveh Nabatian 2002 54 min
    A stone's throw from downtown Montreal, quirky artists, blue-collar workers and unconventional families are being forced to leave their old neighbourhood as high-tech firms move in. Like in so many other cities, the tech companies arrive with the promise of a rosy future--but it's one built on demolitions, evictions and the conversion of low-rent property to high-priced condos.

    This is a portrait of one building and its residents--people like Constanzo 'Fartman' Manna, an eccentric shipper and packer who's headed for Chile to marry the love of his life and bring her back to Montreal; artist Luc Bourbonnais, who is fighting desperately to hold on to the loft that inspires so much of his art; and Cuban émigré Rolando Zambrano, who ran a neighbourhood snack bar for nearly 30 years.

    Shot over a period of six months and set to a pulsing Latin and rock soundtrack, 645 Wellington not only opens a window onto the lives of the building's residents but brings the building itself to life. We come to know the dark hallways, the corners and the doorways. We get to know them well. Just as they are about to change, forever.

    645 Wellington 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.
  • Andrew! Alexander!
    Andrew! Alexander!
    Josh Raskin 2018 4 min
    In this short set in the lo-fi, cable-access world of yesteryear, Andrew Alexander returns to his roots as a taxi driver, shepherding Second City alums on a revealing trip down memory lane. They delve into everything from Andrew’s early years, to creating the hit show SCTV and building a global comedy empire.
  • Andrea Martin: Nine Lives... and Counting!
    Andrea Martin: Nine Lives... and Counting!
    Michelle Mama 2024 4 min
    A bona fide icon, the indefatigable Andrea Martin is behind some of the most recognizable comedic performances to ever hit screens or stages. From the legendary show Godspell to the characters that made SCTV a household name, and recent roles where she continues to buck stereotypes with hilarious effect, Nine Lives… and Counting! pays tribute to an incandescent career of reinvention.
  • Affairs of the Art
    Affairs of the Art
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    Joanna Quinn 2021 16 min
    How many obsessions can one family have? In Joanna Quinn and Les Mills’ Affairs of the Art, we reconnect with Beryl, the working-class heroine who not only reveals her own obsession with drawing but exposes the addictions of her eccentric family, which include pickling, screw threads and pet taxidermy.
  • Bill Reid Remembers
    Bill Reid Remembers
    Alanis Obomsawin 2021 24 min
    Bill Reid Remembers is a beautiful tribute from Alanis Obomsawin to her friend’s remarkable life and rich legacy. Despite spending his early life away from his nation’s culture, renowned Haida artist Bill Reid always kept Haida Gwaii close to his heart. While working for CBC Radio, he started learning how to make jewelry, then later sculpture, using Haida techniques and images, a move that would forever change his life and the Canadian artistic landscape. Reid’s powerful narration in the film—interspersed with Obomsawin’s own—recounts his complex childhood, his emergence as an accomplished artist, and his profound connection to his homeland. Decades after his passing, Bill Reid remains an enduring force and one of Canada’s greatest artists.
  • The Colour of Ink
    The Colour of Ink
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    Brian D. Johnson 2022 1 h 49 min
    Ink is our primal medium. It has always been with us, inscribing the evolution of humanity. The Colour of Ink uncovers the medium’s mystery and power through the eyes of Jason Logan, a visionary Toronto inkmaker. Working with ingredients foraged in the wild—weeds, berries, bark, flowers, rocks, rust—he makes ink from just about anything. Jason sends custom-made inks to an eclectic range of artists around the world, from a New Yorker cartoonist to a Japanese calligrapher. As the inks take on a life of their own, his playful alchemy paints a story of colour that reconnects us to the earth and returns us to a childlike sense of wonder.
  • Enigmatico
    Enigmatico
    David Mortin  &  Patricia Fogliato 1995 51 min
    Interweaving poetry, painting, photography, music and sculpture, this feature documentary is an innovative look at the lives and work of Canadian men and women artists of Italian origin. Broaching issues of identity and culture, the film explores the relationship between the immigrant experience and the creative process.
  • Faces of the Hand
    Faces of the Hand
    Tamas Wormser 1996 28 min
    This documentary takes us on a visual journey through different cultures and range of human experiences and shows the many uses of our hands; working, communicating, creating art and music, expressing our sensuality, manipulating weapons and as instruments of healing and worship.
  • I'm OK
    I'm OK
    Elizabeth Hobbs 2018 6 min
    Following the end of a stormy love affair, Expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka enlists in the First World War. After suffering serious injuries in battle, he experiences a series of memories and visions as medics transport him through the forests of the Russian front. Playful and imaginative, I’m OK explores the wounds of heartbreak and trauma.
  • Kenbe la, Until We Win
    Kenbe la, Until We Win
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    Will Prosper 2019 1 h 23 min
    Set in the lush Haitian countryside as well as the icy landscapes of Quebec, Will Prosper’s documentary Kenbe la, Until We Win chronicles the inspiring journey of Alain Philoctète, an artist and activist who dreams of developing a permaculture project in his native country even as he fights an ongoing battle with cancer.
  • k.d. lang: songs & silence
    k.d. lang: songs & silence
    Laura O'Grady 2023 5 min
    k.d. lang shares her perspective on preferring silence and listening to making noise as one of the 2023 recipients of the GGPAA for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. A musician, 2SLGBTQI+ activist, daughter and icon, lang transcends categorization. Here, she delves into the essence and significance of musical expression, examining its emotional impact on both the performer and the audience.
  • The Kudelka Method
    The Kudelka Method
    Yung Chang 2023 5 min
    After a lifetime in ballet—and honours including Officer of the Order of Canada, Dance Hall of Fame inductee and now, a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award —dancer, choreographer and professional breadmaker James Kudelka wonders, “What’s this all about?” Kudelka reflects on his relationship with ballet as a subversive art and an approach to life, examining his artistic practice as it changes in time and form.
  • Lynda Hamilton: The Art of Listening
    Lynda Hamilton: The Art of Listening
    Claude Guilmain 2019 4 min
    A portrait of Lynda Hamilton, dedicated and tireless supporter of Canadian performing arts, directed by Claude Guilmain.
  • Luben and Elena
    Luben and Elena
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    Ellie Yonova 2019 1 h 15 min
    Luben & Elena is a modern day love story that travels across continents and cultures in pursuit of what makes a place a home. Renowned artists, Luben Boykov and Elena Popova, whose formative years were in the midst of intellectual communist Bulgaria, entered adulthood in the “new world” of Newfoundland. Their work came to intimately define the culture and landscape of the province, underscoring in a very real and visual way how the immigrant experience shapes and defines place. Twenty five years later, they embrace transformation in Sicily.  A timely immigration story, Luben & Elena is an expression of the imperative of inclusion and a poignant reminder of the impermanence of everything.
  • A Mother Apart
    A Mother Apart
    Laurie Townshend 2024 1 h 29 min
    An emotionally sweeping tale of healing and forgiveness, A Mother Apart accompanies powerhouse Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering—having been abandoned by her own mother.
  • Measha Brueggergosman-Lee: A New Song
    Measha Brueggergosman-Lee: A New Song
    Will Prosper 2024 4 min
    Prolific and inspiring, Measha Brueggergosman-Lee has sung in concert halls on every continent, and on some of the world’s biggest stages. Bringing us intimately into her home, A New Songis an up-close and personal portrait of the acclaimed soprano, the first Black recipient of the prestigious Governor General’s Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Classical Music.
  • Michel Marc Bouchard: Speaking Out
    Michel Marc Bouchard: Speaking Out
    Martin Talbot 2023 5 min
    A window onto the world of a theatre giant, and an opportunity to discover the man behind the words. Michel Marc Bouchard discusses his youth and talks candidly about what has motivated him over the years to speak out and share his concerns, which resonate here at home and across the globe.
  • Miserable Miracle
    Miserable Miracle
    Ryo Orikasa 2023 8 min
    Directed by Japanese filmmaker Ryo Orikasa, the animated short Miserable Miracle was inspired by Henri Michaux’s book of poetry and drawings of the same name, about his experiences with mescaline. The film explores the limits of language and perception, creating connections between sound, meaning, shapes and movement.
  • Open Sky: Portrait of a Pavilion in Venice
    Open Sky: Portrait of a Pavilion in Venice
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    Katerine Giguère 2020 25 min
    An intimate portrait of the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, an architectural gem designed by Milan’s famous Studio BBPR and recently restored, along with its gardens, by the National Gallery of Canada.
  • The Passion and Puppetry of Ronnie Burkett
    The Passion and Puppetry of Ronnie Burkett
    Michelle Mama 2024 5 min
    Groundbreaking theatre artist Ronnie Burkett has wowed audiences for decades with his imaginative and provocative reinventions of puppetry and storytelling. The Passion and Puppetry of Ronnie invites us into his home studio and his creative process, as the puppeteer generously and vulnerably reflects on a career that has pushed boundaries while allowing him to be genuinely himself.
  • Rick Mercer: "Take Action" Figures
    Rick Mercer: "Take Action" Figures
    Stephen Dunn 2019 5 min
    While gift shopping at an “enlightened” toy store, a mother and son are out of luck finding the latest Spider-Man and Transformers toys—because all this eccentric shopkeeper proudly sells are Rick Mercer-themed toys that are meant to inspire the next generation of Canadian youth.
  • Robert Lepage
    Robert Lepage
    2009 6 min
    For Robert Lepage, every production begins with a sense of exploration and discovery, whether it is an intimate one-man show, or a re-staging of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. Lepage's work marries technology with ritual, magic with cutting-edge effects to completely reinvent theatrical space. Director J. Peter Allen borrows a page from Lepage's favourite creative mediums (film and stage) to fashion a subtly shifting view of the famed director, playwright, actor and filmmaker at work.
  • Lorraine Pintal - So The Light Never Dies
    Lorraine Pintal - So The Light Never Dies
    Ariane Louis-Seize 2019 5 min
    Directed by Ariane Louis-Seize, this tribute film was created as a gift for Lorraine Pintal, director of Montreal’s Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. Featuring some of the most memorable characters and performers of Pintal’s career, the film’s succession of surreal scenes from different dramatic worlds introduces viewers to the exceptional woman of theatre, stage director, and friend whom they consider to be the “ghost light” of Quebec theatre.
  • Sandra Oh, Inspiration
    Sandra Oh, Inspiration
    Karen Lam 2019 4 min
    Inspired by Sandra Oh’s words and actions, director Karen Lam experiments with the concept of representation in the performing arts.
  • SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability
    SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability
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    Bonnie Sherr Klein 2006 48 min
    Art, activism and disability are the starting point for what unfolds as a funny and intimate portrait of 5 individuals. Director Bonnie Sherr Klein (Not a Love Story and Speaking Our Peace) has been a pioneer of women’s cinema. SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability marks Klein's return to a career interrupted by a catastrophic stroke in 1987. She turns the lens on the world of disability culture and the transformative power of art.

    Joining Klein are a group of artists with diverse (dis)abilities. Humorist David Roche is taking his one-man show, The Church of 80% Sincerity, to New York’s off-Broadway. Poet Catherine Frazee is navigating a jam-packed schedule of teaching and speaking engagements. Dancer and choreographer Geoff McMurchy is organizing KickstART, an international festival of disability art. Sculptor and writer Persimmon Blackbridge is creating mixed media portraits from “meaningful junk”.

    Klein gathers these artists for a pyjama party where they take a subversive look at Hollywood stereotypes of people with disabilities: The Monster, The Saint, The Psycho, the Poor Little Crippled Girl, etc. The artists decide to turn the tables, making a pact to meet a year later at the KicksART Festival with the intent of creating their own images of disability.

    The film tracks this motley gang of five while they create and then present their self-representations. As we get to know each of these remarkable people driven by a passion for art and transformation, the everyday complexities and unexpected richness of life with a disability are exposed.
  • SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability
    SHAMELESS: The ART of Disability
    Bonnie Sherr Klein 2006 1 h 11 min
    Art and activism are the starting point for a funny and intimate portrait of five surprising individuals with diverse disabilities. Packed with humour and raw energy, this film follows the gang of five from B.C. to Nova Scotia as they create and present their own images of their disabilities.
  • Tower Bawher
    Tower Bawher
    Theodore Ushev 2005 3 min
    This animated short by Theodore Ushev is like a whirlwind tour of Russian constructivist art and is filled with visual references to artists of the era, including Vertov, Stenberg, Rodchenko, Lissitsky and Popova.
  • Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
    Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
    Regina Pessoa 2019 13 min
    Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days is about the special relationship between Regina Pessoa and her uncle. The film is a testament to her love for this eccentric, who was an artistic inspiration and played a key role in her becoming a filmmaker. A moving tribute to a poet of the everyday.
  • The Unboxing of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
    The Unboxing of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
    Kathleen Jayme 2023 4 min
    Paul Sun-Hyung Lee shares his love of family, acting and toys in this special episode of his Funboxing Sundays YouTube show. Okay, see you!
  • Voices Across the Water
    Voices Across the Water
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    Fritz Mueller 2022 1 h 24 min
    There is a moment during the construction of a canoe when its true form is revealed. A hull drops into place. The elegant arc of a bow cuts forth. A similar process sometimes occurs in life, when a person finally discovers their true path.

    The feature documentary Voices Across the Water follows two master boat builders as they practise their art and find a way back to balance and healing.
  • We Are All... Picasso!
    We Are All... Picasso!
    Jacques Giraldeau 1969 58 min
    A general look at the Québec art scene--what painters and sculptors say about their work, about the place of art in society, and what has fired Québec's particular interest in art. The views of well-known artists are heard, as well as those of several museum directors, art critics, and some members of the lay public who confess to be not entirely in accord with the more modern art forms.