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Social and Industrial Development (9)

  • Arkelope
    Arkelope
    Roslyn Schwartz 1994 5 min
    Arkelope is an animated short that takes a pointed look at endangered species and human indifference. When a middle-aged couple come across a nature documentary on the decline of the arkelope while channel-surfing, they learn that although the species has managed to survive a variety of natural disasters, it is now in imminent danger of extinction due to man's short-sightedness. With a serious yet funny approach, this little film illustrates human passivity in the face of the ubiquitous TV set.
  • The Barrens Quest
    The Barrens Quest
    Peter Blow 1996 44 min
    This feature documentary examines the destruction of the tundra barrens of northern Canada for mineral mining, including that of Canadian diamonds. Many species have been threatened by this development, including the caribou and the Eskimo Curlew, a bird that flew the sky in thousands which is now nearly extinct. This film makes a compelling case for planned conservation in one of the last unspoiled wilderness regions left in the world.
  • Cities
    Cities
    Lillian Chan 2020 3 min
    Designer Bruce Mau views the COVID-19 pandemic as a short-term crisis in a long-term trend toward positive development. He dares us to abandon our toxic lifestyle habits and urges us toward bolder urban design.
  • People and Science: Deadlines
    People and Science: Deadlines
    Jefferson Lewis 1987 11 min
    While preparing a program on a proposed water-diversion project, a television journalist must come to terms with the fact that she must present an unbiased look at the positive and negative effects of damming a river.
  • Pocket Desert - Confessions of a Snake Killer
    Pocket Desert - Confessions of a Snake Killer
    Teresa Marshall  &  Craig Berggold 1999 24 min
    This personal documentary is the story of Teresa Marshall, who grew up on a British Columbia ranch. Every child needs a demon, and Teresa took battle against rattlesnakes. In the dry interior of B.C., the south Okanagan and Similkameen valleys form the bio-region known as Canada's "pocket desert." As settlers' dreams of creating an agricultural Eden erase fragile desert lands that support a breathtaking array of wild species, the narrator and her snake-hunting neighbours are forced to examine their environmental attitudes.
  • Steam, Schemes and National Dreams
    Steam, Schemes and National Dreams
    1984 28 min
    This short film tells the story of the creation, in 1885, of Alberta’s Banff National Park. When 3 young prospectors, seeking gold in the Rockies, discovered hot springs similar to those at famous international spas, they were eager to gain ownership of them. A conscientious surveyor, however, recognizing that a discovery of this importance should be preserved for the use and enjoyment of the public, was instrumental in having the springs and surrounding area declared a park. Based on the unpublished memoirs of one of the young prospectors, the story is re-enacted with humor and intercut with scenes of present-day Banff.
  • This Borrowed Land
    This Borrowed Land
    Bonnie Kreps 1984 28 min
    The Peace River Valley in British Columbia is an area of rich farmland threatened by the construction of a hydro-electric dam. This Borrowed Land gives the women who farm the Peace the chance to voice their growing concern over the conversion of farmland to uses not related to the production of food. They ask: "Will we leave our children enough land to grow food on?" They are firmly committed to their lifestyle despite the difficulties, both concrete and imponderable. A film about agriculture, ecology, land misuse, and stout-willed farmers who happen to be women.
  • That's the Price
    That's the Price
    Michael Scott 1970 40 min
    What happens to two dying coal towns in British Columbia when an American corporation provides a contract for millions of tons of coking coal? The film follows the consequences for the towns of Natal and Michel, suggesting that industrial growth has its price, especially with regard to the environment.
  • Uranium
    Uranium
    Magnus Isacsson 1990 47 min
    This documentary looks at the hazards of uranium mining in Canada. Toxic and radioactive waste pose environmental threats while the traditional economic and spiritual lives of the Indigenous people who occupy this land have been violated. Given our limited knowledge of the associated risks, this film questions the validity of continuing the mining operations.