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Socio-Economic Conditions (10)

  • 24 Hours or More
    24 Hours or More
    Gilles Groulx 1973 1 h 53 min
    This feature film made during an exceptionally feverish period of popular revolt that saw the coming together of Quebec’s 3 main unions (CSN, FTQ, CEQ) is a cinematic tract by socially engaged filmmaker Gilles Groulx. Propped against the backdrop of the 1970 October Crisis, the film is a frontal assault denouncing a “consumer society” viewed as the ultimate embodiment of evil.
  • Governance
    Governance
    Ho Che Anderson 2020 3 min
    Criminologist and community activist Munira Abukar believes justice and equity begin in your own home and heart. Embracing the uncomfortable awakening that 2020 has brought about, she debunks the cozy narrative of social equality and puts her finger on the key issues needing change.
  • Background to Latin America
    Background to Latin America
    1963 58 min
    This feature documentary is a curious example of the mid-20th century ethnographic film and its depiction of non-Western peoples. We begin our tour of Central and South America in the Caribbean and move along to the vast agricultural and urban locales of Mexico, a socio-economic profile of the so-called “banana republics”, and the rich oil fields of Venezuela and its neighbours. Across the vast Andes mountain range and down towards the coffee industry in Colombia, we continually see the contrast between Spanish colonial architecture and the ruins of ancient Indigenous temples. The film shows the proud history of twenty republics and their growing unrest.
  • Economics
    Economics
    Philip Eddolls 2020 3 min
    Economist Armine Yalnizyan offers a radically honest and deliciously sweet review of our absurdly dysfunctional economic system and what we must do in order to survive and thrive in the 21st century.
  • The Emperor's New Clothes
    The Emperor's New Clothes
    This content is not available for free viewing in your location.
    Magnus Isacsson 1995 53 min
    This feature documentary focuses on the reality of life before, during, and after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the profound effects the economic agreements between big business and government can have on human lives.

    Filmed over a three year period in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, this documentary poses a sobering question: In this global war of cut-rate economies, are people on the losing side?
  • John Bull's Own Island
    John Bull's Own Island
    Stuart Legg 1945 20 min
    Made at the end of WWII, this documentary looks at Britain's post-war period. During a time of economic hardship, Prime Minister Winston Churchill is concerned about the future of his nation. Part of the World in Action series.
  • Krach
    Krach
    Tom Tassel 2006 3 min
    In this animated short, two moneymen intent on climbing the profit ladder at any cost inevitably come crashing down. Incisive and succinct, Tom Tassel's Krach illustrates a basic principle: what goes up must come down.
  • No Longer Vanishing
    No Longer Vanishing
    Grant McLean 1955 28 min
    This short documentary from 1955 presents a discussion of the status of Indigenous peoples in Canada at that time. The focus of the film is on integrating into a non-Indigenous Canadian society.

    It should be noted that this film is a product of the time it was produced.

  • Payback
    Payback
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    Jennifer Baichwal 2011 1 h 25 min
    This feature documentary based on Margaret Atwood’s bestselling book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth offers a fascinating look at debt as a mental construct and traces how it influences relationships, societies, governing structures and the fate of the planet itself. Exploring the link between debtor and creditor in a variety of contexts and places, from the mountains of northern Albania to the tomato fields of southern Florida, the film blends compelling stories of “owing” and “being owed” with the views of renowned figures like Karen Armstrong, Louise Arbour, William Rees and Raj Patel.
  • This Is Our Canada
    This Is Our Canada
    Stanley Jackson 1945 20 min
    A brief look at the history of Canada followed by a demonstration of the growth and strengths which Canada developed under the pressure of World War II. Included are glimpses of the resources, industries, people and lifestyles.